The Glader Academy
by SilentLurker
Summary: Thomas, Brenda, Minho and Newt are dorm mates together in college. Newt struggles with depression, Brenda and Minho are more alike then they care to admit, and Thomas just wants to survive. How will any of them survive in a school that's apparently run by evil professors?
1. Change

**The Glader Academy**

_~a Maze Runner story~_

by SilentLurker

* * *

A/N: Hi! SO I've had this idea for a while and last night I finally wrote the first chapter. Just a couple of things before you start reading.

Obviously with the movie out, there are two different versions of our beloved characters now: the characters we imagined when we first read the books, and the actors that portray them on the big screen. In my story you can imagine them however then heck you want to- I promise I'll try to keep them in character- but I just wanted to let yall know that I'm going to use the movie version of _Gally_ in my story. (I feel like he's more on a friendship basis with the rest of the gladers in the movie, so that's why I'm using the movie version of him. Plus he's just so freaking awesome ILU Gally!).

Yeah that's pretty much it. I hope you enjoy my story! :)

* * *

**\- everything will change -**

**~Thomas POV~**

College sucks.

I mean don't get me wrong, it's super fun with the parties and the sleeping in (sometimes) and especially when you're bunking with your best friends (...also sometimes).

But _besides_ all that: it sucks.

Especially because of what college I go to.

The Glader Academy: living proof that demons still exist. Here at TGA, they take the form of professors. And they're _evil!_

This is not an exaggeration; I repeat- _not_ an exaggeration.

All the teachers here seem to think that the students are all extra-terrestrial and that we have knowledge nobody else understands. What I'm trying to say is they think we're super shucking smart so they give us piles of homework and tests that _none_ of us understand.

I mean college is hard enough- studying every single day for three hour tests that don't even have half the things we studied on it. But then there's TGA- studying every day for _five_ hour tests that everyone ends up failing anyway because there's like _nothing_ on there that we learned about!

Anyway, forget about that for right now. I never introduced myself.

My name is Thomas. I'm 19. I live in a dorm right off campus with my best friends, Newt and Minho. I'm in my first semester right now, and so are they, so the three of us are pretty much sucking at everything together- which is nice. At least I'm not alone in this shuck college.

Oh, shuck? Yeah, about that; it's just a word my friends and I made up, in place of a curse word- one of many, actually.

See another thing about this place is that they're very STRICT on their rules. And "do not curse" is one of their rules, so of course my friend Minho had to find a way around that, and we did.

It's pathetic, I know.

Don't judge.

Actually... you can judge him. He made most of them up.

So now that you've gotten to know me and the weird place that I live and go to school at, let me tell you a little bit about what's going on here at the moment.

Tonight is the Scaryween Festival.

Yes. You heard that right.

Scaryween.

(Told you this place was weird).

The Scaryween Festival is apparently this huge Halloween thing the school does every year, on Halloween, and I've heard it's actually pretty scary, despite its embarrassing name.

An older student here, Alby, told us that they always do this really sick Haunted House that scares the living daylights out of you. Apparently after you come out of it, "everything will change."

At least that's what he said.

Either way, my roommates and I are going. We're going to meet a couple of friends there and go through the Haunted House.

I don't know how "everything will change", but hopefully it means that this place won't suck so bad.

Hopefully.

* * *

"Tommy- what the bloody klunk is that?"

Thomas looked up from what he was doing. His face immediately turned red as he tried to shove whatever he had underneath the couch pillow.

"What? What the shuck's going on?" Minho demanded, entering the room.

They were in the living area of their shared dorm room- a medium sized room with an old blue couch, a TV, a broken bookcase filled with books (and a radio and other random junk), a kitchenette area in the corner, and three doors- one leading to the bathroom, one leading to their bedroom, and one leading to the outside hallway.

Minho and Newt were standing at opposite sides of the couch, where Thomas was sitting, staring at him with questioning looks on their faces.

Thomas coughed awkwardly.

"Uuuuuh, nothing guys. Just some, um, ya know... poptarts."

Minho crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow. "Why would you be hiding _poptarts_ under the pillow?"

A large sweatdrop appeared on Thomas' head.

"Stop playing around, Tommy. I saw what it was, and it wasn't a bloody poptart." Newt told him, becoming impatient.

"Um, well, errr-"

"Wait, then what was it?" Minho asked Newt.

"I don't know- it kinda looked like a movie-"

"A movie?"

"Yes, a movie!"

"Why would Thomas be hiding a shuck movie?"

"How would _I_ bloody know?!"

Minho pouted. "You don't have to be so rude."

Thomas sighed and finally stood up, still hiding the object behind the pillow and holding them against his chest. His friends gazed at him in eagerness.

"If I show you guys... promise not to make fun of me?"

"Promise, Tommy."

"Yeah, whatever."

Thomas and Newt glared at Minho, who smiled sweetly and added, "Only joking! I would never make fun of my favorite shuck-face!"

Thomas glared. Then glanced down at the pillow.

"Ok...here it is."

He removed the pillow and revealed his secret.

In his hands was the newest album of none other then Lana Del Rey- _and_ in mint condition.

Newt and Minho stared at it. And stared. And stared some more.

They kept staring while Thomas waited in anticipation for their reactions.

...More staring.

"Sooo..." Thomas began, looking around awkwardly. He cleared his throat and then bravely began to explain. "Brenda let me borrow it. She told me her music is really good, and at first I was like nah, but then I listened to it and I-"

"THOMAS WHY?" Minho suddenly burst out saying, grabbing Thomas' shoulders and shaking him roughly. "YOU'VE BEEN BRAINWASHED BY GIRL MUSIC!"

"Dude!" Thomas shoved him away.

Newt rolled his eyes as Minho grabbed a random paper from off the ground and starting dramatically fanning Thomas with it.

Thomas curled his eyebrows.

"Why-?"

"Don't worry bro, you'll be ok! If you just barely started listening to it, then there's still hope! We can still save you!"

Newt and Thomas shared a look.

"Minho, I like this kind of music and I don't need saving." Thomas stated simply, swatting the paper fan away.

"Yeah, and you know just because it's sung by a girl doesn't technically make it "girl" music-" Newt started, but Minho interrupted.

"Oh no, Newt, not you too! Ugh, this is all Brenda's fault. Her and her stupid girly ways."

Thomas and Newt shared another look. This time, a worried look.

"Dude... I think you have a sexist problem." Newt told his Asian friend, sitting down on the couch and grabbing the pillow. He clasped his hands together and rested them against his chin.

"Well, I am pretty sexy." Minho wiggled his eyebrows.

"No, _sexist._ Not sexy."

"Is there a difference?"

Newt facepalmed.

"Hey guys, we're gonna be late for Scaryween. We should probably leave now." Thomas said, grabbing his friends' attention.

Minho instantly started laughing.

"Dude, Scaryween was worse off as it is, but when you say it it's _hilarious_!"

Thomas squinted at him.

"Gee thanks."

"Anytime, shuck-face. Let's go." Minho ran to the room and Thomas followed until he realized Newt was still sitting on the couch. He looked back.

"Newt? You coming?"

The blonde boy waved him off, looking somewhere else. "I'll catch up with you guys. Got some homework still."

Thomas frowned, feeling his friend's excuse wasn't completely truthful. He decided to let it go.

"Ok. See you later."

"Later."

* * *

**~Thomas POV~**

Scaryween very much lived up to its lame name. It took place in a field not too far from campus- and it was _lame_. There were only a couple of booths set up for games, decorated with colored construction and crepe paper, the few places that were selling candy and food were OUT of candy and food, the pumpkins that littered the place didn't have any faces carved into them (except for one near a dunking booth that had a face with fangs carved into it- and cat ears on top of it), and the green and orange lights that lit up the place were randomly blinking on and off- which I guess was the only thing about this place that made it feel like Halloween.

"This place is bogus." Minho said when we arrived, glancing around at how very little people there were. "I thought Alby said it was supposed to be cool?"

"He said the Haunted House was cool." I replied, shrugging. I looked past the festival and the crowd and spotted the Haunted House- a large dark building where a lot more people were crowded around, waiting in line to get in.

"Aha! There it is." I pointed it out to Minho.

"Well it better not suck. Let's just find the others and-"

Minho was interrupted by a very loud "AYYYYYYYY!" We turned around and saw our friends Fry and Gally walking towards us.

"What the shuck are you supposed to be?" Minho demanded when he saw Gally's costume. Fry was wearing an awesome chef's costume with a super tall white hat and everything.

_Gally_ was wearing...uh...

I don't know.

"You shanks really don't know who I am?" Gally asked, chuckling.

Fry muttered something like "here we go" before Minho and I shook our heads.

"I'm the Doctor."

"The what now?"

"The 11th doctor. Don't tell me you've never seen Doctor Who?" Gally stared at us like we were crazy.

We did the exact same thing.

"Oh wait, Doctor Who- that's the show that Newt watches." I explained, turning to my confused roommate. "Remember? With the tardle?"

"It's called the _tardis_." Gally corrected.

"Who the shuck cares!" Minho yelled, impatient as always. "Let's just get to the haunted already."

Fry, Gally and I rolled our eyes.

As we began walking toward the haunted house, through the crowd of other college students, Fry asked us about our costumes.

"My costume is kind of obvious, you shanks," Minho said, pulling out his wand and then pushing his hair back to reveal his drawn-on scar.

To top it off he even pushed up his large, round glasses.

"A giant loser nerd?" Fry suggested, the same time that Gally said, "Yourself?"

The guys and I started laughed as Minho tried to punch them, his face turning red.

"I'm Harry frakking Potter!"

"You're frakking Harry Potter?"

"Just shut up already."

We laughed some more until they questioned me about my outfit.

I smiled proudly at the large tinfoil hat I was wearing, made by me. Then I looked down at my silver shirt and black pants and shoes.

"You can't tell?" I asked, trying to make them guess.

"You look like an alien." Gally commented. "So basically you look pretty normal." Minho laughed.

"Actually he kinda looks like a fork." Fry commented.

"Yep!"

The guys stopped walking. Minho gave me a told-you-it-was-a-stupid-idea look.

Fry blinked. Then he started smiling. "Wait, I was just joking-"

"No, I really am a fork." I told him.

Suddenly I started to regret my costume choice.

What the heck. A fork? A _fork?_

Why did I do the thing.

Why am I such a shank.

"Thomas you are such a shank." Gally said, before they all started laughing at me.

I glared at them.

"Yeah well at least I don't fly around in a toodle."

"_TARDIS_. It's called a TARDIS!"

"_Guys_!"

We turned around when we heard the voice of a familiar friend, and we saw somebody running toward us at the speed of light.

"_Guys_!"

The familiar voice yelled again, getting closer this time, dodging straight through the crowd.

"Is that Brenda?" Minho asked.

It was hard to tell with her costume.

"It kinda sounds like her." I said, trying to get a good look-

"HOLY CRAP GUYS!" Suddenly she smacked right into me and we went tumbling into the ground.

"Ouch! Ugh, sorry Thomas."

"That's ok." I told- who I'm pretty sure was Brenda- as the guys helped us up.

When I rubbed the dirty dirt crap out of my eyes and I finally had a good look at her, I saw that she was indeed Brenda.

Wearing a giant Hello Kitty costume.

My jaw dropped. And I think so did Minho's. And Gally's and Fry's.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with her costume (minus the fact that there was a giant Hello Kitty face surrounding her head, and it was kind of creepy), but the only reason we had our mouths down was because of how much _pink_ was on her costume. It's a known fact that Brenda HATES the color pink. And no one really knows why.

She would never wear pink, tho. So it was kind of shocking seeing her in a giant pink Hello Kitty costume.

"Brenda...wha-" Minho began, but Brenda gave him a death glare and stopped him before he could even get out 3 syllables.

"Don't you _dare_ say a thing. This isn't my costume, it's a disguise. I borrowed it from someone to get away from my roommates."

"Why?" Gally asked, totally confused. "And who the heck are your roommates?"

"Teresa and Sonya- and they're driving me CRAZY!"

Something happened when she said Teresa's name.

I don't know what...I think my head hurt. Or my heart.

Or my head. Yeah, definitely my head.

So, Teresa? Yeah. She's Brenda's roommate.

She's also my childhood best friend. (Used to be.)

We were also kinda together once. (Once.)

Then something suckish happened.

All you need to know is that she has a boyfriend and we don't talk anymore.

So yeah.

Ok, what's happening?

Minho was trying really hard not to laugh.

"Brenda, just tell us what happened," Fry said kindly, trying to understand the situation. "Anything we can do to help?"

"Yes! _Hide_ me!" Brenda said desperately. "I can't STAND them anymore. If I hear _one_ more story about Emma hooking up with Hook but he's got a thing for David but David's married and Regina's pissed and the baby is gonna die- I'M GONNA DIE! AND THEN I'M GONNA KILL THEM."

Minho and I exchanged a glance.

"Don't worry Brenda. You can hang with us," I told her, and she sighed in relief. "We're headed to the haunted house now- they can't find you in there."

"Crap Thomas- thanks!" She gave me a hug and I hugged back. "You guys saved my life."

We started heading to the haunted house (again) but this time with Brenda.

Hello Kitty, Harry Potter, a fork, a chef, and the Doctor.

Pretty much the weirdest group in the festival, but we didn't mind much.

On the way there we saw Teresa and Sonya (Brenda was hiding behind Fry and Minho, even tho she was pretty well disguised with the Hello Kitty costume). We hurried when we saw them, but not before Teresa caught my eye.

She stared at me and then gave me a small, sad smile. Then she giggled at my costume, and then turned away.

I couldn't help but smile a little bit too.

She was dressed up as a knife.

* * *

The haunted house was... well...

I don't know how to describe it.

..._Wicked_. It was wicked.

It started off just like any other haunted house. Fog came through around our feet as we walked in; ghosts falling from the ceiling and vampires coming out of coffins.

Cheesy, normal "scary" stuff that they do in every haunted house.

Then it got weird.

It got colder and there was a lot more fog. There was broken glass everywhere, and fake dead bodies with lab coats on them. The bodies were bloodied up and ripped apart so we could see their insides- it was so gross. Instead of everything being dark and hard to see, everything was white- and way too bright. We had to step around all the glass and (fake) dead bodies and it was so gross.

Then it got scary.

As we were walking through, a dead body _grabbed_ my leg and freaked the CLUNK out of me. That's when we made a run for it- and that's when these real ugly looking zombie-type things started chasing us.

Then this guy dressed in army-type gear appeared out of nowhere and gave us these sick looking guns (I'm still unclear on if they were real or not) and told us we had to shoot the zombies to survive.

So we were running and shooting at the same time, and the zombies were yelling and reaching out for us- and people somewhere else were screaming bloody murder and laughing like hyenas- but we eventually shot all of them and they "died."

Then when we _thought_ we were at the end, we entered this maze.

It was not your average corn maze.

There were giant rat-things at every wrong corner, and they were literally like human-sized rats (humans in rat costumes...I hope) covered in this slimy goo stuff. When we ran into them they would JUMP on us and squish us, and we had to freaking crawl out of them and keep running.

Then when we finally found the end of the maze it was over. Thank _goodness._

When we got out, the five of us pretty much collapsed on the grass at the same time. We kinda just stayed quiet for a while until Minho broke the silence.

"Well... that was scary."

"No shuck." Gally retorted.

"I'm usually into scary stuff like that, but this haunted house was way too crazy." Brenda said quietly, unzipping her Hello Kitty costume.

I sighed, staring up at the night sky and all the stars. How could a college put on such a freaky haunted house?

"You guys know Alby, right?" I asked.

Everyone said yes, including Brenda, who was now laying on the grass in her regular clothes- the Hello Kitty costume discarded a couple of feet away.

"So you all know he's an older student and he's been through the haunted house already. Anyway, he told me that when you go through it, _everything changes_."

Everyone was quiet for a couple of seconds.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Gally asked, worry in his voice.

I shrugged, my shoulders digging into the dirt on the ground.

"I have no idea."

"It kinda sounds like a bad omen to me." Minho muttered.

"Since when do you believe in omens?" Brenda asked him.

"I don't, I'm just saying it sounds like one."

"Omens are just stupid things to scare people."

"I _know_\- I'm just saying it sounds like one."

"Whatever."

"Whatever." Minho mimicked in Brenda's voice.

I heard her sit up.

"Did you just mimic me?"

"Course not, Hello Kitty."

"_WHAT_ did you just call me, Scarface?!"

"Excuse me, I'm Harry frakking Potter!"

"WILL YOU TWO please shut up?!" I yelled, sitting up and glaring at them. They were sitting up across from each other, glaring at each other and now glaring at me.

Brenda huffed.

Minho pouted.

Gally and Fry sat up too, and then we were all sitting in a circle. I took off my fork hat and rubbed my head- a headache had developed from Minho and Brenda's stupid fighting.

"I think we should just call it a night." Gally said, taking off his fez and holding it in his lap. "Maybe tomorrow we can forget about what we saw in there."

"Saw in where?"

All of us looked up- Newt was standing behind our group, holding a bucket of candy.

"You lot look like you had a wonderful time," he said sarcastically, inserting himself between me and Gally. "I brought a bucket of candy if anyone's interested."

Minho's hands were the first to dive in.

"Newt, join the party," Fry said, half-smiling. He took some candy after Minho. "Be glad you missed it. The haunted house wasn't all it was cracked up to be."

"It was worse." Minho muttered, shoving candy in his mouth.

Newt raised an eyebrow.

"Worse? What do you mean?" He looked at me.

"It was just really, really scary- and not in a good way." I tried to explain.

"It sucked. The whole thing." Brenda said bluntly, snatching a mini Hershey's bar. "I might sue."

Newt's eyes went wide. "Wow Brenda, I thought you loved things like this...and I never knew you were the suing type."

Brenda smiled. "I was joking about suing. But seriously, the haunted house was just _sick_. I'm glad you weren't there."

Minho glanced at her before grabbing another handful of candy.

"I am too, man," I told Newt. "At least one of us won't be scarred for life."

We talked for a few more minutes before deciding to call it a night. Gally and Fry went back to their dorm, and we were just saying goodbye to Brenda when her roommates showed up.

As in, Teresa and Sonya.

As in _Teresa_.

"Oh, heyyy guuuuys," Brenda greeted them awkwardly, scratching the back of her head.

Newt had been caught up on the whole Brenda-avoiding-her-roommates thing, so he wasn't confused with her behavior.

Teresa frowned at her. "Where'd you go? We lost you at the cotton candy and we couldn't find you since."

"Yeah, you missed me explaining the finale- Emma and Hook finally kiss and it was _so_ romantic!" Sonya said, smiling excitedly.

Brenda looked like she wanted to gag.

"Oh, well I was, ya know-"

"It's our fault, girls, we're terribly sorry," Minho interrupted, smooth as fudge. "We invited her to hang out with us and didn't let her have time to tell you two. Completely our fault."

Sonya smiled at him, and Teresa shrugged.

"Oh ok, it's no problem Minho." Teresa turned back to Brenda. "We're heading back to the dorm now. You ready?"

Brenda froze.

I didn't know what she was thinking- but I'm pretty sure it went along the lines of "crap back to the dorm crap with my crazy roommates crap they're gonna watch chic flicks all night again flip flap crap I have no hope crap crap crap" or something like that.

So I decided to save her.

"Wait, I thought you were sleeping over at our place tonight?" I quickly asked Brenda, eyeing her.

She snapped out of it and looked back at me, her eyebrow raised. She looked at me like I was insane.

"Remember, we were gonna finish that Chem homework and then you were just gonna crash at our place?"

She caught on quick.

"Oooh yeah, right- I totally forgot," she turned back to her roomies and smiled sadly.

I don't think she was very sad, tho.

"Sorry, guys. I promised Thomas I'd help him out with his homework tonight."

Sonya the red-headed Wonderwoman (as in she was dressed up as Wonderwoman) gave her an understanding smile.

"No problem, Bree! We'll see you tomorrow. Just remember to get some sleep!"

"Yup, will do!" Brenda replied, still keeping up the smile for her friends' sake.

Sonya hugged her and walked off. Teresa said goodnight and then followed her roomie, but not before giving me a look.

I couldn't tell what she was trying to tell me with her look. Or if she wasn't trying to tell me anything at all, and she was just looking at me. She seemed completely stone-faced.

With Teresa sometimes I never knew.

Brenda turned to me and beamed.

"How many times are you gonna save my life?"

"I don't know, but that's how many times you owe me."

She and Newt laughed.

"Yeah, ok. Fair enough. Where am I gonna sleep?"

Minho suddenly joined the conversation. "Sleep? What are you talking about?"

We stared at him and raised our eyebrows.

"Brenda is bunking with us tonight," Newt told him. "Didn't you hear a word we were saying?"

Minho's eyes grew wide. "What? She's _bunking_ with us? When did _that_ happen?"

"What the heck have you been doing the last couple of minutes?" I asked.

He folded his arms. "I was texting, and it was VERY important."

Newt and I exchanged a knowing look.

"You were texting your mom, weren't you." I said.

Minho's face went red.

"Shut up."

"ANYWAY, back to where I'll be sleeping..." Brenda said nonchalantly, turning back to me.

I turned to consult the guys.

Minho glared. "Don't look at me. I don't care where the girl sleeps."

_SMACK!_

"Ow! My glasses!"

Newt and I cracked up as Minho retrieved his Harry Potter glasses from the ground. When he stood back up, his face was red from where Brenda had smacked him.

"Gosh, Brenda, that hurt!"

"Good. So we feel the same." She said sarcastically. He squinted at her.

"I guess you'll just have to sleep on the couch," Newt told her, shrugging. "There's nowhere else. It's actually pretty darn comfortable, tho."

"Sounds good to me." Brenda replied.

"Ok, now that we've got that settled, let's head home." I suggested, and everyone agreed. We all started walking back together. Minho and Brenda fighting occasionally, Newt carrying his bucket of candy, and me with my fork costume.

That night when we all settled into bed (Brenda was on the couch out in the living area), I had this strange feeling inside of me.

I couldn't shake the feeling that after tonight, everything really _would_ change.

But whether it would change for the better or for the worse, I had yet to find out.

* * *

A/N: Woop woop! This story EXCITES ME! :D

I hope you liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it. And if you believe in omen's or anything similar to that, I hope I didn't offend you- I just needed to use that in my fic for some Minho/Brenda teasing.

So I hope you caught a few things in the Haunted House that related to the books... hehe. The giant rats were the Grievers and the zombies were the Cranks, of course.

I am SO excited to write this!

I'll try to update soon. :) Please review!

_-Lurky_

p.s. I don't own Hello Kitty OR The Maze Runner. TMR by James Dashner. Also known as J-


	2. Greatness

A/N: Thank you to everyone who followed, commented, and faved!

**Aisaru86:** Thank you! :)

**Marianne Lidell:** Aw thank you so much! ^.^ And I love Newt too, so don't worry there will be plenty of him.

**Guest:** THANK YOU! Ahhh I love Minho's sassiness so I do the best I can with him, haha.

**Guest:** Thank you, I love Once Upon a Time so much haha. :) Thank goodness the hiatus is finally OVER.

* * *

**\- destined for greatness -**

**~Minho's POV~**

* * *

I woke up to the smell of brownies.

And not just any other brownies. _Newt's_ super special secret-recipe fudge brownies.

It smelled so shucking GOOD.

So naturally I jumped out of bed (and when I mean jumped, I literally do jump out of bed in the morning. Thomas and I share a bunk bed and I sleep on the top) and ran out into the living room to eat some brownies.

Ok- I guess brownies for breakfast isn't the BEST thing for me to eat, or anyone really, first thing in the morning.

But you've never tasted Newt's brownies.

They. Are. HEAVENLY.

Anyway, while I was making my way through the living room and to the kitchenette, I _slipped_ on something on the ground and crashed to the floor.

It freaking hurt like a mother.

I'm usually pretty good at not slipping on things, because there's always random clunk around our dorm that we have yet to clean up (like school papers, socks, half eaten bags of potato chips), but this time the thing I slipped on wasn't any of my crap.

Or Thomas' or Newt's crap.

I knew it didn't belong to any of us because the thing that I slipped on was a SHUCKING _BRA!_

YES. A totally gross female item RIGHT THERE in the middle of the floor, CAUSING ME PAIN.

I stumbled to get back up before I stared at it in disgust.

What the shuck was it even _doing_ here?!

My mind started coming up with a million outrageous scenarios before I remembered that Brenda had slept over last night. I glanced at the couch and gave a huge sigh in relief- there she was, sleeping peacefully.

Which could only mean that the bra belonged to her.

"Pst...Brenda." I stood behind the couch and poked her face, hoping she would wake up.

"Breeeeendaaaa. Yo. B-dawg. Dude. Dudette. Bree. Hey. Hello. Wake up. Wake up shuck-face."

It wasn't working.

I bent down closer to her ear but stopped midway. She looked kinda pretty when she slept. Her long, wavy brown hair trailed down past her shoulders, her face looked so natural and calm... she looked so serene, so beautiful...

Too bad I had to ruin it.

I crossed my fingers that she wouldn't beat me up, took a large deep breath and yelled,

"BRENDA WAKE UUUUUUUUP!"

_SMACK!_

SHUCKING SHUCK-BAGS when will this woman stop slapping me?!

"What?! What's going on?" She asked, still half-asleep, sitting upright and looking around like a lost dog.

"Don't worry, nothing's happening," I reassured her, standing up straight and rubbing my face. (This chic smacks HARD.) She stared up at me with her mouth hanging open, blinking a few times.

"What? Well... then why did you wake me up?" She questioned me in annoyance. She collapsed back on the couch and groaned.

I squinted at her.

"I woke you up because I almost DIED slipping on your shucking _bra_\- which you just left in the middle of the freaking floor!"

Brenda yawned for like 5 hours before finally acknowledging me. But even before that she had to get up and stretch and put her dorky nerd glasses on.

"Hello? Did you hear me?!"

"Yes, Bedhead, I heard you," she FINALLY replied, rummaging in her bag for something (probably her contacts).

I blushed when she called me Bedhead. _So_ I have messy, crazy hair in the morning. Everyone does!

That's why the love of my life, hair spray, was invented.

"Sorry that you almost died over my bra," she told me, chuckling. "I'm so used to just throwing it across the room before I go to bed, I didn't think to put it in my bag or anything." She glanced at me to see my reaction. I could tell she was enjoying this.

I, however, was _not_ enjoying this.

Awkward..bra..conversations at seven in the morning.

All I wanted was some of Newt's brownies. And instead I get THIS.

"Yeah, well whatever. Just... Don't do it again." I grumbled, turning away and shuffling into the kitchen.

"I promise!"

I refrained from glancing back at her. Instead, I checked the oven for when the delicious brownies would be ready.

Five more minutes.

UGH TOO LONG.

"Newt woke up super early to make those," Brenda commented, and this time I did look at her. She was gathering her clothes and toothbrush, I guess to take to the bathroom and get ready. "I never knew he liked baking."

She looked up at me. I looked away.

"Yeah, he...he only bakes when..."

I could sense Brenda's curiosity growing.

"When what?"

"...When he's down."

That's all I could say. I really didn't know how else to put it, and Newt never really gave Thomas and I an explanation as to what the reason was. We kind of just learned about it over the years of knowing him.

Newt gets sad more often, he gets low more often, and he gets quiet more often then anyone else we know. Then anyone else I know.

I still don't know what to call it. And I still don't know if it's as bad as I think, or if it's really not that bad and it's just my worry for him making it seem a lot worse.

Brenda appeared in front of me. I looked up at her and saw her face was filled was concern, and a little bit of understanding.

"I'm sorry, Minho..." She told me- the first time I've ever heard those words come out of her mouth, directed to me. But it wasn't for me exactly. It was for Newt.

"I know."

* * *

"Hey guys, what smells like heaven out here?"

Thomas entered the living room, having just woken up and still wearing his Captain America PJ's (T shirt and very comfy looking sweats). Minho was in the kitchen, eating brownies, Newt was sitting on the couch and lacing up his shoes, and Brenda was currently in the bathroom.

"Newt's super special secret-recipe fudge brownies, that's what." Minho replied, answering Thomas' question. He held up his plate of brownies for extra emphasis.

Newt rolled his eyes.

"Why do you guys call them that? They're just brownies."

"They're not _just_ brownies!" Minho gasped, pointing at Newt with his fork. "They're _your_ brownies! And they're shucking DELICIOUS!"

Thomas laughed and entered the kitchen, grabbing a plate of brownies for himself.

"Minho doesn't lie, Newt. Your brownies are amazing."

"You two are gonna throw up, ya know." Newt said, standing up and beginning to fix the couch cushions and the one pillow that they had on it for decoration/comfort. (It was an ugly shade of puke green with a pink flower sewed onto it, and with threads coming off. BUT it was comfy.)

Thomas stopped chewing and looked up.

"Why? Did you poison them?"

"No, but you two are eating them for breakfast. Not a good idea."

Minho and Thomas looked at eachother. Then they shrugged and kept eating.

"It's worth it." Minho claimed, which made Newt shake his head and smile.

The door to the bathroom opened and out came Brenda, dressed and ready for the day. She wore a black Beatles T shirt, red skinny jeans, and black combat boots. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a hairband.

"Hey guys! How goes life?" She asked loudly, skipping to the kitchen and grabbing a brownie to eat.

"It goes on." Newt replied. He grabbed his backpack from by the TV and swung it over his shoulder, and then joined the rest of his friends by the kitchenette.

Brenda shoved a brownie in her mouth and then grabbed her messenger bag from behind the couch. She turned back to the guys.

"Don't you two have classes today?" She asked Thomas and Minho, referring to the fact that both of them were still in their PJs.

"Nope." Thomas replied, the same time that Minho said, "Don't know."

Everyone stared at Minho.

He coughed awkwardly.

"Uh, what I meant to say was, I..."

Thomas stared at him, eating another brownie. Newt raised his eyebrow. Brenda give him a "what the fudge?" face.

"...Uuuh, yeah don't know, don't care."

"Ugh, Minho they're gonna kick you out of this college," Brenda rolled her eyes and grabbed another brownie for the road.

"Sounds good to me."

"I'm with Brenda on this one, mate," Newt said, looking serious. "I know the classes here are really hard, but I don't want to see you getting kicked out."

"Yeah, that would be pretty embarrassing." Thomas commented.

"Fine, if it's _that_ important, I'll go to my shuck classes. _Gosh_." Minho grumbled, throwing a few more brownies on his plate.

Thomas, Newt, and Brenda all exchanged glances.

"Ok, well... I gotta go!" Brenda said, securing the strap of her messenger bag around her shoulder. She smiled at the guys. "Thanks for letting me sleep here last night. You guys are awesome, don't forget it!"

Newt and Thomas smiled back. Minho pouted.

"No problem, Brenda. See you later!" Thomas replied, waving goodbye as she crossed the room towards the front door.

"See ya later, Bree." Newt said, nodding goodbye.

Minho sighed.

"Bye! Try not to kill anyone else with your bra!"

Newt and Thomas stared at him and like he was crazy.

Brenda laughed. "I'll try not to! Bye!" She slipped through the door and was gone.

Newt raised his eyebrow. "Kill anyone with a _bra?_ What was _that_ about?"

Minho smirked at him.

"That's for me to know and for you to never find out."

After that he proceeded to laugh like an evil maniac and then stuff his face with a few more brownies.

Newt and Thomas rolled their eyes.

"Guess we'll never know."

* * *

After Newt departed for class, Thomas and Minho were the only ones left. Thomas pulled out his homework to study while the latter used a fork to poked around through the brownie crumbs, his eyes shifting back and forth.

After shifting his eyes for a few more seconds, he smirked, apparently making up his mind about something. He looked up at his roommate. Then he gave a very dramatic sigh.

Thomas looked up.

"You okay?"

Minho sighed louder this time, and (if possible) even more dramatically, ignoring his friend's question.

Thomas raised his eyebrow.

"Minho. Shank. What's wrong?"

The spiky-haired teen looked up at his inquisitive friend. There was a mischievous glint in his eye, alerting Thomas that whatever he had to say wouldn't be good.

"Thomas my friend... I need help."

"Yes, I know. Finally gonna see a therapist, I see?"

"Not quite. I've had this AWESOME idea for a prank in my head for a while, but I need help pulling it off."

"Please don't continue talking-"

"And since Newt is in class, you get to be the lucky shank that helps me do it." Minho smirked in success.

Thomas moaned.

"Come OOOON, dude- I thought you had a class?"

Minho waved his hand through the air, as if swatting a fly away. "Yeah, yeah, I'll do that later. So you in or what?"

Water from the kitchen faucet leaked out, drip drip dripping in the sink in a steady rhythm. The ceiling fan spun at a pace slower than a snail; adding an irritating creaking noise. A fruit fly was buzzing around the whole place, zooming past Thomas' face without a warning, a please, or a thank you.

Thomas exhaled slowly. He couldn't study in these conditions.

Absolutely not.

He closed his textbook, stood up and turned to face his eager friend.

"Fine, I'm in. But if we get caught and kicked out, we stay at your old folks place until we find somewhere else. Meaning I stay at your old folks place until YOU find me another place to stay."

"Deal- let's go!"

They were walking through the doorway when Thomas suddenly stopped walking.

"Hold on, who are we pranking?"

Minho smirked cunningly. He clasped his hands together in front of his face and then answered.

"Newt."

* * *

**~Thomas POV~**

We ended up right outside of Newt's classroom. There were windows on the double doors that led to the room, and when we poked our heads in the windows we could see Newt sitting and listening politely to his evil psycho Professor.

He was so...sooo, just so...

Newt.

Yeah. He's Newt.

He's awesome.

Anyway, we tried to ignore the odd looks of people passing by as we got to work.

"Ok, what do we do?" I asked Minho, the genius mastermind behind all of this.

He shifted his eyes around to make sure nobody was listening. Then he smirked in excitement.

"Ok, so first we get a whoopee cushion and fill it with pudding-"

"Wait, wait, wait-" I interrupted, eyeing him carefully. "You did remember to _bring_ this stuff with you, right?"

Minho blinked.

"Uhhhhhhhh-"

"_Minho_!" I groaned in exasperation, facepalming. "You're telling me we walked all this way, JUST to walk all the way back to our dorm to get the stuff we need to do the prank?"

"Actually I don't have a whoopee cushion, and I'm all out of pudding. Sooo we'll probably have to go to the store and buy this stuff."

I glared at him. He smiled all innocently, trying to appear adorable for extra affect.

"I'm going to kill you."

"And I love you too."

_SO_ about half an hour later, after running to the store and buying a whoopee cushion, chocolate pudding, hair product for Minho (he apparently ran out of his special hair spray even tho his hair looked immaculate as usual), and a Root Beer for me, we were back at the door to Newt's classroom.

The bad thing was that Newt's class ended in twenty minutes.

"Let's do this," Minho whispered excitedly. We were crouched right outside the classroom door on the left side, hiding being a giant purple plant. "Hand me the pudding."

The plant was fake, by the way.

"Ok but don't eat it." I warned, handing my partner in crime the package of pudding cups we had purchased.

He rolled his eyes, and then proceeded to rip the package apart. He used his pocketknife to cut the end of the cushion and then he started to fill it with pudding.

As he did so, a clear image of what he intended for Newt appeared inside my mind.

"You want him to sit on it and it'll look like he clunked his pants." I told Minho matter-of-factly.

The hair-product-obsessed teen snickered like a hyena.

"It's gonna be great!"

I suppressed a sigh.

"You are so immature."

"Shut up and help me."

"Fine. But how exactly are you planning on getting it underneath Newt's bu-?"

"_AHEM_."

My voice froze.

My body froze, my blood froze, my entire MIND completely stopped working.

Minho and I looked up from our hiding spot and low and behold there stood the most hated authority figure on campus. The scariest, cruelest, creepiest authority figure on campus.

Vice President Janson.

He stood hovering above us, a whole 6 feet and 3 inches of crushed souls and broken dreams. His gray hair complemented (more like degraded) the white suit that he always wore. It was hard to stare directly at his face because of the giant mole he had on the side of his chin- and the fact that he looked like a rat.

My friends and I were 99% sure he was part rat, part demon.

And this part rat, part demon, the Vice President of TGA, had just caught us about to pull a prank.

"Good after afternoon, gentlemen. What kind of homework are we studying today, hm?" Rat Man inquired of us, staring down his nose with these beady black eyes that could almost suck out your soul if you looked too closely.

Minho and I were speechless.

We were pretty much dead. Kicked out of The Glader Academy. Pranking is WAAAY off limits in this school. And it's a known fact that Rat Man gives totally unfair, ridiculous, cruel and unusual punishments.

This is all according to Alby.

"Looks like we're not studying at all, oh no," he insisted, his voice full of sadistic sarcasm. "This looks more like a childish prank, methinks. I hope you two know this is against the rules."

I think that was when me and Minho's brains clicked and started processing what was happening, because after that we started rushing out excuses and apologies- which we both knew were useless. But it was worth a shot.

"We're so worry-"

"-didn't even know-"

"-never do it again, ever-"

"-it was his idea-"

"_Silence!_" Rat Man hissed, glaring in irritation.

I think I almost clunked my pants.

I think Minho did.

"Names. _Now_."

"Minho Lee."

"Thomas O'Brien."

I held my breath, waiting for the horrible words to hit my ears: you're expelled. It was inevitable now. The dread was taking over my stomach and threatening to escape when something unexpected happened.

Rat Man's face changed.

He still looked butt ugly, but he wasn't glaring at us anymore. Or smirking in glee like I expected.

He was raising his eyebrow very slightly. Frowning. Contemplating.

"_You're_ Thomas O'Brien?"

I swallowed nervously.

"Uh... yes?"

"Is that a question? You either are or you're not. _Are_ you Thomas O'Brien?!"

"Yes! Sir!" I added "sir" as an afterthought.

V.P. Janson rubbed his chin, obviously trying to think of a worse, more violent way to punish me. He probably had a row of special knives he wanted to gut me with. Or a collection of bad soap operas he'd force me to watch.

This was officially the worst day of my life.

"Thomas... THOMAS..." Janson chuckled, and then smiled.

He actually _smiled._ And it was CREEPY.

He finally made up his mind and then looked down at me with this new, creepy grin of his.

"Thomas O'Brien. 19. Lived with his father, mother and brother until accepted to TGA. Roommates: Minho Lee and Newton Sangster. Top grades, perfect attendance, perfect behavior."

Minho and I exchanged glances. He had this expression on his face that said WHAT the shuck is going on.

"Well, Thomas. You are a top student. Top student, indeed." He motioned to the whoopee cushion. "We all make mistakes, and I hope you never let me catch you make this one ever again. We're expecting great things from you, Thomas. One can't have too much fun when he's destined for greatness."

"Destined for greatness?" I repeated, completely confused at what he was going on about.

"Yeah, what do you mean he's 'destined for greatness?'" Minho demanded, crossing his arms. "And how do you know everything about him?"

Janson turned towards him. His smile was gone.

"Detention, Lee. Every day this week."

"WHAT!?"

"Pranking is firmly prohibited, which you should know."

"But- this is college, there _is_ no detention!"

Janson just stared at him as if he were the biggest disappointment in the world.

Then he turned back to me, his creepy grin back.

"Great things, Thomas. Great things."

After that he was gone.

Minho shook his head, glaring after Ran Man with loathing in his eyes.

"I can't believe him. I'm paying with my OWN money to take classes here, and he thinks he can just give me _detention_!?"

"Yeah, weird..." I wondered, staring after him as well. "What do you think he means, I'm destined for greatness?"

"That shucking rat-face... no way I'm going to detention. I don't even know where it is!"

"And he knew everything about me, too."

"Shucking shuck-face...aw shuck."

The doors to Newt's classroom opened and students began spilling out.

"And we didn't even get to do the prank!" Minho threw his arms up in anger before crossing them, pouting his lips.

We saw Newt heading toward us.

"Hey Minho, why do you think he only gave you detention and not me?" I asked him.

"Maybe he's in love with you."

I rolled my eyes.

"Hey guys, what are you doing here?" Newt asked us. He immediately noticed the whoopee cushion filled with pudding and the package near our feet. He curled his eyebrows.

"What's up with this crap?"

I glanced at Minho.

"That's not important anymore. Newt, have you ever met V.P. Janson?" Minho demanded of our friend.

"Rat Man? No, not in person."

"_Good_. That slinthead is EVIL. He just gave me detention for a week, and he let Thomas off completely free!"

Newt turned to me and smiled. "Seriously? That's hilarious! What was this shank busted for?"

"He was pranking you." I told him, shrugging.

"Thomas you traitor!" Minho pointed to the whoopee cushion. "Ok, it's true, but Thomas was helping me."

"If that's true then why didn't he get detention?"

I smirked at Minho. He pouted.

"Ugh, I don't know, because Rat Man thinks he's destined for awesomeness or something stupid like that!"

Newt started laughing. "Sure he does."

"Actually, I'm destined for greatness," I corrected him. "Now come on. Let's clean up this crap before another teacher sees it."

We cleaned up the whoopee pudding and headed back to the dorm. On the way, aside from joking with Minho and Newt about Rat Man, and trying to stop Minho from eating the pudding out of the whoopee cushion, I thought about what had happened.

I didn't get kicked out of college. I didn't even get detention (which I wasn't aware they had at this college). Alby had told me everything I needed to know about TGA. What he DIDN'T tell me was that V.P. Janson wasn't a complete jerkface to EVERYONE.

It was so strange, the way he had realized who I was and then changed his entire mood and behavior. He barely spoke to Minho, and he acted as if I was his star pupil.

Destined for great things? I don't know about _that,_ but I do know I am a pretty lucky shank.

I remembered the Haunted House from yesterday, and how Alby said that when people go through it, things would change for them.

Well maybe this is it for me. My luck is changing. I didn't get kicked out, didn't get in trouble, and I'm on good terms with the Vice President of TGA.

If my luck really does change for the better, then maybe The Glader Academy won't be so bad after all.

* * *

A/N: Hello shanks! Chapter 2 officially done. I'm really lame and I used the actors last names for Thomas and everyone because I'm too lazy to think of last names for them. BUT that's ok.

So I bet you're wondering who Thomas' brother is supposed to be. Hehehe it's probably pretty easy to guess, but don't worry because he WILL make appearances in future chapters.

ANYWHO I hope you liked it. Chapter 3 soon to come! :)

_-Lurky_


	3. Killed

A/N: Hey guys! SO, just warning ya, this chapter is gonna be kinda short. Meh. Sorry. ^.^' It's supposed to be longer but I'm having a hard time writing the other half of it, and I wanted to give yall something since I haven't updated in a week. So I hope you like it even tho it's short.

**Marianne Lidell:** Thank you! Haha yup, just normal people- no Grievers or Cranks trying to attack them. o.o

**Aisaru86:** Seriously? D: Oh my gosh I'm sorry! That's gotta HURT. (Minho feels your pain!)

**NotReallyAGuest:** THANK YOU! Haha your comment made me smile so much! Ahh! I'm sorry to say but if you ship Thomas and Brenda, then you probably won't like this chapter. Sorry!

**Phoebe:** Haha thank you! :)

* * *

**\- i really would've killed you -**

**~Brenda's POV~**

* * *

Detention. Detention at college.

How does that make _any_ sense?

It doesn't. But for some reason The Glader Academy is so strict and stupid that they give people detention if they're caught breaking a rule.

_So_ ridiculous.

And it's not like I was even breaking the rule EXACTLY. The rule is no spray painting the property of the college. I was spray painting the wall of my dorm, which is _technically_ owned by the state- not by TGA.

But of course, some idiot walking by had to stick their fat nose in my business to see what I was doing, and then they had to go and tell one of the flipping professors that I was "damaging school property."

The nerve of some people.

I mean _seriously_.

Anyway, complaining never did me any good. My Political Theory class just ended and it was time for an hour of damned detainment.

An hour of my life dedicated to doing absolutely nothing.

I can't wait.

When I entered the detention room, a musty old classroom in the basement of the school, the first thing I noticed wasn't the six broken desks scattered about the room, or the two out-of-order vending machines in the corner, OR the random boxes filled with papers all about the room.

Nope. The first thing I noticed was the spiky-haired Asian boy sitting on one of the broken desks, wearing very large glasses and reading a book that suspiciously looked like something from the Twilight saga.

"Minho?" I asked in disbelief, walking closer to the man in question.

He jumped out of his skin at the sound of my voice, instantly throwing the book behind him and snatching the glasses off his face.

"What!? Brenda, is that you? What are you _doing_ here?"

I was trying really, really, really really REALLY hard not to laugh.

"I have detention. Um... do you wanna put your contacts on so you can see me?" I offered, sitting on a desk across from his.

I had no idea he wore glasses and had contacts. It wasn't a big deal- I wore contacts and so did a couple of our other friends. But the fact that he kept it secret from us was what made me laugh. Why would he be embarrassed?

And why would he be embarrassed caught reading a book, even if it _was_ a teen vampire romance novel?

"No! I mean- I don't have contacts." Minho replied quickly, blinking a couple of times before focusing on me. I noticed his face was turning beet red. "Those were just my reading glasses- um, for school reading."

I smiled submissively; deciding to just let him have this one.

He can tell me about his obsessive reading habits when he's ready.

Anyway, I was about to ask him why he was in detention when he suddenly beat me to it.

"So why are you here?" Minho demanded, quickly changing the subject. "Did _you_ know this place gave out detention?"

"No," I replied, getting ticked off all over again. "I feel like I'm back in high school! I didn't even break the rules; _all_ I was doing was-"

"You guys too, huh?"

Our heads whipped towards the door where the voice had spoken, and- surprise, surprise- _Gally_ was standing there, a dejected expression on his face.

"Gally?" Minho exclaimed. "You too?"

He plunked down at the nearest desk and sighed.

"I don't know what the deal with this place is. It used to be great and amazing and what I considered my home." Gally shook his head, then rested it against his fist. "Now it's all just a big bunch of klunk."

Minho nodded his head, with me echoing their motions. Gally is another older student here, like Alby, so he knows all the ropes and secrets of TGA that Minho and I have yet to find out.

"So detention is a new thing? They didn't have it before?" I asked, wondering why on EARTH they would enforce this in college.

Gally nodded his head.

Minho groaned.

"This is so stupid! We should just bust outta here." Minho suggested, but Gally immediately said,

"You don't wanna do that."

Minho and I exchanged a worried glance.

"Why not?" I asked cautiously.

Gally looked me dead in the eye.

"Don't ask."

I shuddered, not wanting any further information on the subject.

"So what are you two in for?" Gally asked us.

"I was spray painting my room."

"I was pulling a prank on Newt."

Gally nodded approvingly, grinning.

"Nice, very nice. But also very novice."

I rolled my eyes. "Well I wasn't _trying_ to break the rules. I was just decorating my room."

Minho snorted. "With spray paint?"

"Yes, with spray paint." I squinted at him. "What was your prank? Boring Newt to death with a book?"

Minho's face turned completely pink.

"Ok FIRST of all-"

"No, _you_ listen-"

"-books aren't even bad-"

"-you're SO annoying-"

"-with a whoopee cushion-"

"-never hear a _word_ I say-"

"Will you two SHUT UP?!" Gally yelled.

Minho and I stopped fighting. I looked down at my desk, feeling sheepish.

"Thank you! _Gosh_, you two are so annoying!" Gally grabbed his head as if he had a headache. I risked a glance at Minho. He was puting contacts on.

I ALMOST said something sarcastic, but before I could, Gally announced,

"I swear, one day you two are either gonna kill each other or get married. There is nothing in be-"

"_What?_" I cried in disbelief (and I'm pretty sure Minho had yelled the exact same thing at the exact same moment).

"Gally, you're a shucking SHUCK-FACE!" Minho fumed.

"Seriously dude, why are _you_ in detention- annoy someone to death?" I asked rudely.

"Yeah, I bet that's why you got detention ya shuck-face!"

"I swear, one day if I don't kill Minho, I'm definitely gonna kill you for that comment!"

"Yeah, you shuck-face! Wait..." Minho turned to me. "Wait what?"

"I said I'm gonna kill him."

"Oh. Ok, yeah." Minho turned back to Gally, glaring. "Gosh, Gally. Just...gosh. Why you gotta be such a douche?"

Gally just shook his head. He looked very, very, _very_ sick of us and everything we were saying.

"Whatever, Minho. Just let him be." I rested my head against my arm. "Now we have to sit here for an hour doing nothing."

"Ugh. Right." Minho groaned. "Face it, Brenda. We'll never make it."

"Maybe we can plan each other's funerals." I suggested.

"You can be buried at the top of Mt. Everest," Minho began, tracing a pattern of a mountain on his desk. "We'll have vanilla cupcakes and bacon as refreshments."

"Oooh I love vanilla cupcakes and bacon." The thought of my favorite snacks made my mouth water.

"We'll invite all the awesome people. Me included, of course."

"Am I being buried or cremated?"

Minho thought on that for a few seconds.

"Cremated. But we'll still have the funeral on Mt. Everest, so no one stupid can crash it or ruin it with their stupidity."

"Ok, sounds good." I hid my smile behind my arms as I rested my head in them. Sometimes I loved how our relationship worked- me and Minho. One minute we'll be fighting and ripping each other's heads off, and the next we'll be best friends again, talking about something totally random.

I don't even remember what we were fighting about.

"Ok, now your turn," I told him, and he sat up excitedly, waiting to hear his funeral plans.

"So your funeral will undoubtedly take place at Hogwarts."

"YES!"

"We'll have pumpkin juice, butter beer, and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean's for refreshments."

"Holy shuck, YES."

"Let's seeee- oh! And you can't come unless you bring some kinda Harry Potter merchandise to donate to your collection that I'm gonna continue for you after you die."

"You're the best. You know that, right? You are the best."

"And I'm gonna make sure Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint are there. And we're gonna bury you on the small island where Dumbledore was buried."

Minho almost fell out of his chair; his arms flailing around in hysteria.

"Holy SHUCK! I can't wait until I die!"

I started laughing so hard that _I_ almost fell out of my chair, too. Gally shook his head, his face clearly exposing his thoughts- _you two are shuck idiots._

He was smiling, tho. So I knew he still loved us.

And we still loved him.

(Well... I still did, at least.)

"Guys, you're missing something." He spoke in a light-hearted tone. Minho and I raised our eyebrows.

"Which one of you will die first?"

I frowned. Minho scratched his head.

"Hm. Didn't think of that."

"Me neither." I admitted.

We looked at each other.

"Eh. We'll just die at the same time." I concluded, smiling in success. Minho smiled too.

Gally's jaw dropped.

"What? You can't just DIE at the exact same time! Whose gonna plan each other's funerals, then? The pumpkin juice? Mt. Everest? Whose gonna collect the Harry Potter crap?"

"We can get other people to do all that." Minho told him, shrugging.

I eyed Gally slyly.

"In fact, Gally, you can do it."

"WHAT?!"

"Hey, perfect idea!" Minho marveled, throwing his hands up in the air. "You heard everything that we said, so now we don't even have to write it down. You can get other people to help you, I can pass on my collection to you, and Brenda and I can die in peace!"

Gally looked absolutely appalled. He started sputtering out excuses why he couldn't and wouldn't do it, and we were trying so hard not to laugh and to act normal and to keep up our charade, but poor Gally was so worried and we couldn't take it anymore.

Minho and I burst out laughing, cracking up so hard that tears appeared in our eyes and we were slipping from our chairs to the ground, unable to control our bodies or our laughter.

Gally was SO confused. At first he didn't know what the heck was going on. Then he eventually realized we had been joking about the whole thing- planning our funerals and dying at the same time and him taking it over for us. We thought he might be angry with us, but instead he just rolled his eyes and collapsed on his desk into a napping position.

"Like I said," I could barely hear his voice through all the laughter. "You'll either end up killing each other or getting married."

I barely caught his words- I was laughing so much. But I did hear them. And when I did, I had the oddest, strangest feeling inside of me that he was right.

* * *

A/N: I feel bad for Gally. I don't hate him I PROMISE. I freakin love him. I just needed him to get a little beat on in this chapter.

I'M SORRY.

Anywhoo, I hope you enjoyed. Watch out for chapter 4.

_-Lurky_


	4. Glue

A/N: Hola! Oh my GOSH guys thank you for all the reviews, favs, and follows! :) I seriously didn't expect all of that.

**AznInvasionPersuasion:** Hi. :) Yes it is indeed. I ship them so hard asdfghkl; I have issues... oh and thanks!

**NewtTheGreenie:** Thank you! Haha yeah Gally gets all the crap. But I still love him!

**Marianne Lidell:** Thanks! And this chapter explains what happens with Thomas and Newt while Brenda and Minho are in detention- but be warned, it's not happy. :(

**PeriwinkleRoses:** This is before Newt's limp accident. And you're right I need to write more Frypan. D: Gah what's wrong with me! Thanks for reminding me... and don't worry I have something special planned for Chuck.

**AsgardianGrizzly:** Thank you so much! :D I love Doctor Who! And so does Gally apparently, haha. Thank you for your lovely comments!

**WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SELF HARM/SELF CUTTING.**

* * *

**\- they call you the glue -**

**~Thomas POV~**

* * *

Newt and I were watching The Walking Dead in our dorm, eating pizza and going through packs of Root Beer, while Minho was in detention.

Yeah, you heard me right. Minho. In detention. (Which isn't really much of a surprise.)

But the fact that we're now in college and he's _still_ getting detention is why Newt and I have been laughing for the past hour.

It's pretty shucking hilarious.

Anyway, Newt and I were sitting on the couch watching the season 2 finale of Walking Dead. I was holding onto the green pillow for dear life, trying not to throw up at the bloody gore from the Walkers.

I've only seen up to season 2, but Newt and Minho have seen the whole thing. They're trying to catch me up on it.

I can't help it that while they're staying up 'till 3am watching it, _I'm_ staying up studying for tests.

_Way_ more important than zombies.

...Kind of.

That's probably debatable.

"Oh I love this part! Bloody insane!" Newt exclaimed in excitement, his eyes glued to the TV screen.

I peeked my head over the pillow right when a zombie started eating someone's guts.

"Yeah," I muttered, feeling my pizza threaten to return. "Real emphasis on the 'bloody'."

Newt just laughed. I hid behind my pillow, hating myself for eating all that pizza. And drinking all that Root Beer.

"Tommy you're missing the best part!" My British bro told me, removing the pillow as my shield and raising his eyebrow at me.

"Newt, I don't know if I can finish the rest of this show. My pizza doesn't think I can."

"Should we turn it off? Or tell your pizza to slim it and keep watching?"

I was about to reply when suddenly my stomach erupted. I ran like a madman to the bathroom and upchucked like a man dropping oatmeal from the attic.

Faintly through the bathroom wall I heard Newt say,

"Well that answers that question."

Yes. Yes it does.

A few unpleasant minutes later, after cleaning up and rinsing out my mouth (and vowing to never eat pizza and root beer again before watching The Walking Dead), Newt and I were back on the couch.

We were just sitting. Slumping, actually. He had the pillow this time. I think he was chewing on it. Maybe it was my imagination.

"Ok, so... Now what?" I asked aloud, boredom creeping up on me like an eerie fog.

He shrugged.

"I dunno."

I sighed, he sneezed.

"Wanna talk about stuff?" He offered, kicking some empty soda cans that were on the ground.

I shrugged.

"Eh. I dunno."

If was about 10:30 at night. Minho wasn't back yet, even though he should've been back thirty minutes ago.

Newt and I had nothing else to do. Nothing to watch. Nothing else to eat (not like I wanted to eat anything else). No homework.

Newt sneezed again.

I could see this wasn't going anywhere.

I was about to call it a night when suddenly Newt asked,

"Hey, how's it going with you and Teresa?"

I froze.

Me and Teresa? How's it going?

Well CRAP.

How do I explain that to Newt? Or anyone?

"I saw her with some guy today," he said, his voice changing. He sounded kind of guilty. Not guilty. Pitiful, sympathetic, sad. "They were hanging out at the cafeteria. Tommy, they were holding hands. Kissing."

Of course they were. I knew that. He didn't know that I already knew that. That's why he felt bad. He thought he was breaking the news to me.

I looked at him. He had a sad expression on his face.

"I'm sorry, To-"

"It's fine. We're not together anymore. It's fine."

I could see the sad expression change to confusion in a heartbeat. There was also a little bit of hurt. Hurt that I hadn't already told him.

"What happened?" He asked carefully.

Let's see... where to be begin. What happened between Teresa and I? Why is she with another guy? How do I make a short version of this story?

"She broke up with me. She's with this shuck-head named Aris now."

There we go. Short version.

Newt curled his eyebrows. He knew there was more to the story, which of course there was, but he decided not to question me any further.

"Aris, huh? Sounds like a bloody shank to me." He scoffed, and I half smiled.

"Yeah, well, doesn't matter anyway. I'm heading to bed now." I told him, standing up abruptly.

He looked up at me for a second, and then nodded his head.

"Alright. I'm gonna stay up and wait for Minho."

"Ok. Goodnight."

"Night."

I trailed through the empty pizza boxes and soda cans that littered the floor and then closed the bedroom door behind me. Our bedroom was no different from the rest of our dorm, really. Dirty clothes all over the floor, textbooks and homework everywhere, random items in random places. I trudged to my bed and climbed underneath the covers.

My mouth still tasted like throw up, but I was too tired to get a drink of water or brush my teeth. I didn't even change my clothes.

All I wanted to do was sleep. I didn't want to think about Teresa, or my classes, or my professors that have suddenly not seemed so evil lately.

Especially Professor McVoy, my Social Conflict teacher. Out of all my professors, Katie McVoy was without question the worst of them. She was clever and cunning and cruel, hard and grueling, indifferent and rude.

I hated her.

But today was different. She was still all of the horrible things that I just described her to be, but not to me. When I asked her a couple of questions on the lesson (which I usually try to refrain from doing because I hate having to talk to her), she wasn't rude to me. She was actually helpful.

She still had that sharp look in her eyes that she always does, but there was something else there today. Curiosity? Eagerness? Interest?

It's like she was carefully calculating everything I was saying and doing, waiting for whatever I would do next.

It was so weird.

Either way, I don't want to think about it. Right now, all I want to do is sleep.

Maybe tomorrow I'll wake up and realize it was just a hallucination. Or maybe just a dream.

* * *

**~Newt's POV~**

When Thomas went to bed, I stayed up to wait for Minho. A few minutes later Minho sent me a text saying he wouldn't be back until late; he, Gally, and Brenda were hanging out off campus.

I wondered how they managed to do that. You're not supposed to leave campus during the night. It's against the bloody rules.

I shrugged it off and continued watching TV, telling myself I'd get to bed eventually. The Walking Dead was still on, but it was an episode I'd seen a thousand times. I had it on low volume, and to be honest I wasn't really paying much attention.

I lied on the couch and stared up at the ceiling, crossing my arms underneath my head. There were so many things on my mind, and at the same time- nothing.

Nothing mattered. Not anymore. Here I was, first semester of college with my best friends- an ambition of mine ever since I was young. And here I was, laying on a couch we found cheap at some garage sale, wishing I hadn't been accepted. Wishing I was still at home. Wishing I could rewind time and spend one last day with the only person I truly cared about.

My sister.

But I can't. I shucking_ can't_.

There is no rewind button. There are no wishes, no fairy godmothers, nothing good about this life except the memories you can barely reach out and grasp for but all they do is slip through your fingers and laugh at you, mock you for the times that once were and will never be again.

All there is now is a murky future you don't want, innocent friends who don't understand, and distant strangers who will never try to understand. And you don't want them to.

_I_ don't want them to.

I don't want any of this.

Slowly, very slowly, I stood from the couch. My heart was pounding inside my chest. I thought Thomas might hear, and I didn't want him to. He should never know about what is to happen.

I crossed the living room and entered the bathroom, closing the door behind me.

I locked it.

The cravings and urges I've had for the past few days- weeks, actually- haven't settled and I need to quench them. I need to get this over with. If Thomas or Minho ever found out, they would kill me.

I'd be better off dead, anyway.

I opened the drawer where we kept extra toothbrushes and shavings cream and whatnot. After moving my hand around for a few seconds, I found it.

Quickly, I snatched it out of the drawer and closed it. Then I caught my reflection in the mirror.

Dirty blonde hair, unkept. Brown eyes with heavy bags underneath them. A tired face. A broken face.

I looked down at the scissors in my hand.

Nothing mattered. So why should I care about pain? I've already lost the one thing I love the most, my sister. I've suffered enough pain as it is. This shouldn't hurt.

This couldn't hurt. Nothing hurts anymore.

Nothing matters.

Without thinking, I sliced my wrist, sending blood spurting everywhere. I grunted and made a fist, ignoring the red liquid spilling down my arm.

I sliced again. More blood.

I sliced. I sliced and sliced and cut and stabbed and cut and sliced until I could no longer stand. I hit my back against the wall and slid to the floor. Blood and tears streamed down my skin. I dropped the scissors and crushed my hand over the wound.

The light from the bathroom blinded me, so I shut my eyes. I shut my eyes and took a deep breath. Was there music playing? I swear I could hear music. I could barely feel the sticky goo from the blood anymore.

Soon I couldn't feel anything. I just felt numb.

My sister was dead. It was my fault, too.

Nothing matters in this life. Nothing hurts.

Not anymore. Not ever.


	5. Homestead

A/N: GUYS. I AM SO SORRY. I'm a horrible person for leaving yall on that cliffhanger. BUT NEWT DID NOT DIE, I PROMISE YOU. I would NEVER kill him! NEVER. OH MY GOSH EMOTIONS WHY YOU GOTTA BE LIKE THIS.

There were so many reviews I almost DIED! :D But in a good way.

**Xx The Genius Xx:** Oh my gosh, thank you SO much! Your words mean so much to me! I hope you didn't hurt yourself falling out of your bed! And like I said up there, Newt isn't dead and I'm not going to kill him off. And dude- Newt and Minho are my fav characters too! :o :D

**Sparkle926:** I'M SO SORRY. D;

**Akiho4:** Thank you! This chapter has one of them catching on to what he did, but I shant say any more...

**Marianne Lidell:** Depressing is a good word for it. ): Thanks for reviewing! And yes, I already know how he's going to get his limp and everything... it's so sad... gosh I hate myself. UGH. But anyway- thanks!

**PeriwinkleRoses:** Don't worry, nothing bad is going to happen to Chuck! I'm introducing him in an awesome way. ;) And yeah, super sharp scissors. :( Thanks for reviewing!

**I'm Aria Daughter Of Poseidon:** Thanks! :)

**xxshadowwolfyxx:** Thank you! I'm not sure if I'm going to be pairing Newt with anybody... He's going through really hard things right now that he has to figure out on his own- and with help from his friends- so I'm not sure if adding a romantic relationship would be the thing to help him at the moment. BUT, it might. I wasn't planning on it, but I'll think about. :) (Wow that was really long sorry!)

**Guest:** THANK YOU! :D

**Just here dreaming:** Thanks! Sorry for causing you pain! D;

**Cory:** He's NOT dead I promise!

**Flowercrown-han:** NEWT LIVES! HASHTAG NEWT LIVES!

**Viridian Snipars:** Thank you so much! And yus... poor bby Newt gets all the crap.

* * *

_**\- the homestead cafe -**_

* * *

Lunchtime was everyone's favorite time of day at the Glader Academy. It was the unspoken truth. Time to relax from classes, eat food, hang out with friends, and the option to get homework done or to completely ignore the homework that you need to get done.

And it just so happened that a lot of TGA students liked to spend their lunch at The Homestead Cafe.

The Homestead Cafe, more commonly known as the Homestead, is a popular food place that can only be described as old, musty and grubby. But despite the fact that it was worn out and smelled of burnt peanuts, it was a fun place to hang out, and the food actually wasn't half bad.

Most of the time.

Thomas, Brenda, Newt, Minho, and Gally were sitting together in a circle booth at the farthest corner of the cafe. They were eating grilled chicken and fries, sipping on root beer and coffee, and discussing the interesting things going on in their lives at the moment.

"So you guys stayed off campus _all_ night?" Thomas asked, his eyes registered with both awe and disbelief as he dipped a fry in a squirt of the Homestead's Homemade BBQ sauce.

Minho, Brenda and Gally exchanged looks of secrecy.

"Yup. We're baaad to the bone." Brenda joked, holding tightly to her warm cup of coffee.

"So- _right_ after you guys had detention," Thomas continued, staring between the three of them with a skeptical look. "You go right out and break the rules again? That's what I'm hearing?"

"Shuck yeah, shuck head!" Minho exclaimed, grabbing some fries and shoving them down his mouth. "It was awesome!"

"We almost got caught sneaking off campus, but sneaking back in was a cinch." Gally added, smirking in Thomas' direction.

Brenda and Minho laughed, obviously remembering some funny memory of sneaking around campus and trying not to get caught. Thomas shook his head, grinning. Gally squirted Homestead Sauce on his fries and then passed it to Newt, who then proceeded to squirt it on his chicken.

"Ok you rule-breaking jerks... What did you guys do all night while Newt and I were sleeping?" Thomas inquired, intrigued but also a bit jealous.

Newt remained quiet at this question, not bothering to input his opinion on the subject. He used his right hand to eat his food, while keeping his left hand firmly under the table.

A notion that didn't go unnoticed by Thomas.

"What did we do? What DIDN'T we do?" Brenda asked, turning to Minho and Gally, who both immediately started laughing. "We-"

"Wait! Let me tell the story!" Minho practically shouted from across the table at Brenda. The brown haired Canadian rolled her eyes but allowed him to speak.

"Ok, ok ok ok..." Minho looked around with an excited smile on his face. Thomas waited. Brenda and Gally ate their food, also smiling excitedly. Newt waited patiently, looking down at his food.

"So first we went to the grocery store-"

"No, we went to the book store first." Brenda interrupted.

"NO!"

"Well, I'm pretty sure-"

"Ugh, _Brenda_-"

"_Minho_!-"

"OK you know what?!" Gally said loudly, interrupting their fight. "How about _I_ tell the story?"

"Good that." Thomas agreed.

Brenda and Minho glared at each other. Thomas rolled his eyes.

"Anyway... First we went to the grocery store-"

"I KNEW IT!"

"MINHO SHUT UP!" Gally yelled.

It was a couple seconds before the group realized that everyone in the Homsetead was staring at them.

Gally cleared his throat.

"Anyway... we went to the store and pretty much just bought whatever crap we wanted to. Then we started sampling the fruit but we started eating too much of it so the security guards chased us out."

Thomas snorted.

"Then Minho wanted to buy some of his nerd books, so we went to Barnes and Noble."

"Ugh, rude."

"Which was weird because it was still open at like 2am, and I've never heard of a bookstore open 24 hours, but this one was. So while Minho got some books, Brenda and I played with the Doctor Who toys they had. Oh! And I got a life-size sonic screwdriver!"

Brenda smiled at Gally's dorkyness while Minho rolled his eyes.

"A what?" Thomas asked.

"It's a tool used by the Doctor," Newt said suddenly, and all eyes fell on him. "He uses it to pick locks and scan things and whatnot."

His voice was devoid of any emotion, as were his eyes. He had eaten about half his food, and was now just picking at it with his finger.

Thomas and Minho exchanged a worried glance.

"Hey Newt... You okay?" Thomas asked carefully.

Newt's right hand instinctively went to cover his left arm, resting on his lap underneath the table. Thomas raised his eyebrow at this.

"I'm fine. What did you guys do after the bookstore?"

Gally went on to tell how they snuck into some club and ate a bunch of free food and danced and had a blast, until they got caught and kicked out, but the mood at the table had shifted slightly. Everyone could tell Newt was having a bad day.

But the only ones who could tell it was more then just a bad day were Minho and Thomas.

Thomas kept wondering why Newt was holding so tightly to his left arm. Minho kept wondering the same thing. They both knew there was more to this than just stress or sadness. This was Newt. There was always more then meets the eye.

Thomas promised himself that as soon as lunch was over he would talk to Newt and see what was up; make sure he was ok.

After the story was finished, dessert was ordered and Frypan (who just so happened to work there) was the one to bring it out.

"Fry! Yo what's up?" Gally beamed as his brotha from anotha motha came to their table, holding a tray of six different ice creams.

"Hey guys and gal!" Frypan replied, smiling wide at his friends. They all pushed their trays and drinks around, making room for the large tray of desserts. They scooted over so he could sit down.

"Oooh, I looove ice cream." Minho marveled, grabbing his hot fuge sundae and digging in immediately.

"Me too! I'll never get sick of of." Brenda said, grabbing her vanilla with a cherry on top.

"Guys, why are we eating ice cream during the winter?" Thomas asked, grabbing his Rocky Road. "It's too cold for this!"

Gally shrugged, grabbing his mint chocolate chip. Frypan grabbed his cookies n'cream, and Newt took his Tin Roof.

"Thanks, Frypan." Brenda smiled graciously at him.

"Yeah, thanks man." Thomas echoed, nodding at him.

"No problem, guys. Hey, are yall going to Ben's party?" Fry asked, taking a large spoonful of ice cream.

"When is it?" Minho asked, mouth full of fudge.

"It's this Friday in his dorm. He's turning 21."

"Oh great." Brenda rolled her eyes as all of the boys started laughing. Even Newt managed to crack a smile.

"That boy is already as crazy as it is. Adding alcohol to the mix is like starting the fuse for a time bomb."

"Yeah, well, at least it'll be a fun night. Ben always knows how to throw a party." Gally offered, shrugging.

"I'm with Brenda on this one," Thomas said. "Remember his 18th birthday party? He mixed Red Bull and coffee together, went NUTS and tried to beat me up!"

"Yeah, that was a weird one." Brenda scrunched up her face.

"That was HILARIOUS!" Minho laughed. "Didn't he bite you or something?"

Thomas glared at Minho.

"Yes, he _bit_ me, and it's not funny!"

Minho started laughing, and Gally and Frypan tried hard not to laugh.

Thomas rolled his eyes at them, then finished his ice cream.

"Ok, guys, whatever." Brenda said, their laughter dying down. "As long as he doesn't bite me at this party, I'll be there."

Minho suddenly frowned.

"Hold up... it's _this_ Friday?"

"Yeah, why?" Frypan raised his eyebrow.

"Aw shuck! I'll be in detention!"

Thomas and everyone else raised their eyebrows.

"What do you mean? You already had detention."

"Yeah, but Rat Man gave me detention for the entire week." Minho grumbled, his hands forming into fists. "So I can't go."

"That's what you get for trying to prank me." Newt said sarcastically, and Frypan laughed. Minho, on the other hand, sank low into his seat and tried not to look as guilty as he felt.

"Don't worry, bro, you probably won't be missing much. In fact, since he's turning 21 the whole thing will probably end with the cops turning up and half of us in jail, so be glad you won't be there." Gally explained, half joking.

Minho grumbled something about Ben biting Gally and turning him into a zombie, and then he pushed his empty ice cream cup away.

Without warning, Newt sprang from his seat on the edge of the booth and stood up. Everyone stared at him in confusion.

"See you blokes later. Got a class in ten."

And with that, he left- but not before Thomas had gotten a good look at his left arm.

There was a white bandage wrapped tightly around his wrist.

On it, barely visible, were splotchy dark red stains.

Thomas' heart sank as realization struck in.

Newt had cut himself.

* * *

**~Brenda's POV~**

After lunch with the guys I headed back to my dorm to get some studying done. After walking in and flinging my purse across the room, however, I heard Teresa's muffled shouts coming from the bedroom.

When I went in there to see if she was ok, I saw her yelling not-so-very-nice things through the phone.

I guessed it was either her dad or her boyfriend.

Or a professor. Or the plumber, or the president of the United States- it could have been anyone, really. Teresa takes crap from no one. That's why we get along so well.

It's my other room mate, Sonya, that I can't _stand_.

After she hung up, she collapsed on her bed and groaned.

I burped.

"Your burp smells like Homestead chicken." She commented dryly.

I sat next to her.

"Hey, you never told me you can guess the food I've eaten from my burps."

She rolled her eyes.

"Sooo do I need to beat anyone up?" I asked, leaning back on her bed and getting comfy.

"Nah."

"Ok. Stalk anybody?"

"Nah."

"Shoot anybody?"

Teresa laughed.

"No. It was just Aris being a butthead." She told me, referring to the person she was yelling at over the phone.

"Oooh, ok gotchya."

We lay in silence for a few minutes, Teresa trapped in Teresa's thoughts, and me trapped in my thoughts.

"Can I be honest with you?" She asked me suddenly, breaking the silence.

I nodded my head.

"...I miss Thomas."

My eyebrows flew up immediately.

She _misses_ Thomas? Holy crap. Holy crap holy crap oh my goodness. She totally still likes him. I knew it. I freaking knew it.

"In what way?" I asked, trying to keep things normal. I tried really hard not to spazz out and claim she still had feelings for him- because I really, really wanted to. Instead I kept my cool. Stayed calm.

She was in a fragile state.

My fragile friend shrugged, curled up on the bed and hugged tightly to a pillow.

"I don't know... I just miss him. Talking to him, hanging out with him...just being with him made me happy."

OH MYYY GOOOOSH.

I knew it. I KNEW IT! She still loves him. I knew it I knew it I knew it I knew it I knew it I knew it I knew I-

Ok, before I continue freaking the frak out, let me tell you a thing.

Thomas and Teresa have been friends for forever. They were high school sweethearts. They were madly, sickly, sweetly in love. I really thought they were gonna get married one day.

But then something happened between them and NEITHER one will tell me or anyone else about it, and after that they broke up and stopped talking to each other and sometimes they act like they hate each other.

I don't know what happened but they really just need to settle their differences, because it's painfully obvious that they're both still in love with each other.

And the fact that Teresa started dating some other guy is really just _stupid_.

Ugh.

_Children._

I decided to woman up and ask her the big, bold question.

"Does being around Aris make you happy?"

Teresa gave me a pointed look.

"You think I still like Thomas." She accused.

"You basically said it yourself-"

"Well I _didn't_."

A heavy silence fell after that. I felt a little guilty, but also annoyed. She needs to face her feelings sooner or later. Is it bad that I want to help her?

She remained quiet for a few more minutes. Then she sighed.

"Let's change the subject."

"Ok... are you going to Ben's party?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Yep," I sighed inwardly, remembering the conversation I had with the guys at the Homestead. "Minho can't go. He still has detention."

Teresa turned to me, raising her eyebrow.

I turned to her, raising my eyebrow.

"What?"

She smiled.

"What?!"

"Do you like Minho or something?"

"_WHAT_?!"

I sat up and jumped off the bed, turning to face her and furiously crossing my arms in from of my chest.

"Why the heck would you think I like Minho? He drives me_ insane_!"

She stared at me with coy eyes.

"Are you sure he doesn't drive you insane in a good kinda way?"

I squinted at her.

"_Pretty_ sure."

Teresa slid off the bed and sat on the ground, looking up at me with big, adorable, innocent blue eyes.

Psh. What a suck up.

"Come on, Brenda. You can be honest with me. And if you really like him, or even just a little bit, you should be honest with yourself."

Gosh darn it this girl and her wise advice.

I sat down next to her and sighed, wondering how exactly to express my feelings... especially because I didn't really understand my feelings in the first place.

"Ok well...he really _does_ drive me insane," I mumbled, awkwardly messing with my fingers. "...but I guess he doesn't drive me insane in a bad way ALL the time..."

I looked up at her to see her reaction.

She was grinning like the Cheshire cat from Alice In Wonderland.

"I KNEW IT!"

"Knew what?!" I exclaimed, trying to act ticked off. I was mostly just smiling like an idiot.

"YOU TOTALLY LIKE MINHO!"

"TERESA YOU ARE SUCH A JERK!" I tried to punch her but she jumped up and ran off into the living area. "GET BACK HERE!"

I chased her around the living area for like five seconds before the door slammed opened and Sonya came in.

"Heeeey guuuurls, I'm baaack!" After she walked in and closed the doors, she asked, "What's going on?"

I gave Teresa the stink eye and said, "Nothing much, just playing a game of tag."

Teresa smiled innocently.

"Ooh sounds fun, can I play?" Sonya asked, throwing her bag on the couch.

"I was actually about to leave," I answered quickly, not wanting to be stuck playing a freaking kids game with Sonya. "I need to hit the library for some study books."

"Ok then. Have fun studying!" Sonya chimed.

I grabbed my purse and headed out the door, shooting another dagger eye look towards Teresa.

She smiled sweetly and said, "Later tater!"

After I was gone, I made my way towards the library to get some actual studying done. But when I found myself sitting in a quiet corner with books, papers and spirals spread out in front of me, my mind was wrapped around only one subject:

Minho.

Did I _really_ like him as much as Teresa thought I did?

* * *

**~Thomas POV~**

I was at my dorm, cramming for a Lab Science test when I heard the knock.

I looked up, waiting to hear if Minho or Newt would answer it. I guess I _could_ have answered it, it was just that I was in the bedroom in my bed snuggled up with blankets with a bunch of notes on my lap.

Sooo... yeah I didn't get up.

I waited.

"Minho? Newt?" I called out.

It didn't sound like either of them were here.

The knock sounded again.

I sighed, shoving all my notes to the side and wiggling out of my blankets to get up.

Those jerks. Minho was probably out causing havoc and Newt was probably...

I had a sinking feeling inside my stomach.

Wherever Newt was, whatever he was doing, I hope he was ok.

I still need to talk to him about his wrist...about what he did to himself...

I really hope he's ok.

The knock sounded for the third time as I walked past the couch towards the door.

"Coming!" I yelled, finally wondering who was on the other side.

I turned the knob and opened the door, looking down to see the most unexpected person that could have been standing there.

My brother.

"Hey Thomas," Chuck said, smiling up at me with his crysal clear blue eyes and rosy cheeks, probably from the winter air outside. "What's up?"

* * *

A/N: OH YEAH, SUCKAS. CHUCK IS THOMAS' BROTHA BECAUSE THAT'S HOW IT BE WHEN I DO WHAT I DO. HA. HA HA.

Ok enough of being weird... I don't own Alice In Wonderland. Or The Maze Runner. There is no real place called The Homstead Cafe. Grass is green. Cows go moo.

And with that, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you celebrate Halloween, I hope you have a freaking awesome day tomorrow!

_-Lurky_


	6. Concern

A/N: SO many reviews! GUYS... _thank you_! This makes me so so so so so happy! I don't know how to explain it. Writing makes me so happy but seeing that my writing makes OTHER people happy makes me CRAZY HAPPY! (It makes more sense in my head.)

Also, sorry it took forever to update. I moved to a new apartment so between packing and unpacking, it left little time for writing.

ALSO I'm going on a two week vacation next week so I may or may not update while I'm there. I haven't decided yet...

I LOVE you all and I'm SORRY at the same time! MERP!

**Akiho4:** Thank you! To be honest I've gone though some of the things Newt is going through so I think that's why his character appears very realistically. I hope the other characters are realistic and in character as well.

**PeriwinkleRoses:** Yay for Chuck! I love him so much. I always had this thought while I was reading TMR that they were brothers before they were taken by WICKED.

**Marianne Lidell:** Heeeeeey! Thanks! Haha yeup, Brenda and Thomas all discoverin' stuff... and I'll try not to write them getting arrested. I have too much fun writing stuff like that sometimes...hehe.

**Swimlikeloco11: **I LOVE Once Upon a Time!

**Tebolizer:** OH MY GOSH THANK YOU! Dude I totally don't even mind you writing in caps lock! Thank you so much for your comment! :D Aghhhhh I'm so glad my story gives you teh feels! I hope they're good feels! And yah, NOT killing Newt. (haha "Janson whateva" XD)

**DuckieBubbles: **Wow, thank you!

**MinhoBeLike:** I will! :)

**AsgardianGrizzly:** Aw thank you! :)

**Guest: **Thanks!

**Guest:** Thank you! That's a good idea, I was actually thinking about that. It's always cool to have someone else that knows what you've been through and understands you. I'll definitely consider it. :)

**221bdeductions: **Gahh thank you!

**Guest: **Oh my gosh, thank you! :) Ugh gahh bleh I can't even speak because I don't know what to say! (or type, I guess...)

**amillipede:** Yeah it's a weird ship at first. And thanks!

**FernFalcon: **Thank you! Aw, no way. Chuck is just adorable in general, haha. :)

**Guest:** THANK YOU! :)

**Filipulina:** For not speaking English, your comment was seriously perfect! And VERY SWEET! :) I really want Thomas to confront Newt soon (and Minho) and I'm planning that right now. Ok spoiler, it doesn't happen in this chapter. :p I'm SORRY!

**Guest:** Thanks! :)

**mistystar123:** Haha thank you! :)

Okay, just gonna say it one more time... THANK YOU for everyone who commented. Yall made me smile so much that my FACE EXPLODED.

Haha just kidding. Seriously tho my face hurts from smiling so much, which I consider a good thing. :) I appreciate all of you guys, and I appreciate the ones who favorite and follow my story too!

SO I hope you like this chapter!

* * *

**\- concern seemed to bleed his heart dry -**

**~Thomas' POV~**

* * *

I was in the kitchen, fixing up some sandwiches, while he sat on the couch and observed the room.

I eyed him like a hawk.

"So," I began awkwardly, placing a slice of cheese delicately on his sandwich. "How's mom and dad?"

He shrugged, glancing over the couch at a large pile of empty root beer bottles.

"They're good. Left for a cruise and decided I could pick where I wanted to stay for two weeks." Chuck looked up at me and smiled. "I picked my older brother."

"A two week cruise? In November?"

"Yup. They won some tickets online or something." He hopped off the couch and started checking out the game systems by the TV.

"Huh. Well, ok then." I finished the sandwiches and brought them over to Chuck; sat them on the small table by the couch. "What about school for you? What are you in now, 8th grade?"

Chuck glared at me.

"I'm a sophomore."

"Oh." I grinned sheepishly.

He rolled his eyes, then grabbed his sandwich. "I have homework with me to do." He replied simply.

I nodded to pretend I understood, when in fact I didn't understand at all. Chuck, my 15 year old little brother, suddenly shows up to announce he was going to be staying with me at my dorm for two weeks while our parents were vacationing on a cruise. And he didn't have any days off from school that I was aware of. So all he was going to do for school for two weeks was "homework"?

It sounded a bit strange.

But then again my family is very strange.

"You know you could have called," I told him, finally sitting down next to him and grabbing my sandwich. "I could have had a bed ready for you."

He shrugged. "I don't mind the couch." Munching on his sandwich, leaning against the couch like that- he looked right at home.

"I can find an extra mattress or a cot for you. But in the meantime I guess the couch will have to do." I set my sandwich down and rubbed my chin, thinking. "I'll be gone a lot because I have classes, and even when I am here I can't be interrupted because I'll be studying, so you'll have to cook your own food and do your own laundry and crap."

Chuck stared at me like I was an idiot.

"Thomas, I know how to take care of myself. I'm 15; not 5."

"Yeah, right. Do you have money?"

"Yup."

"Okay good." I scratched the back of my head, trying to remember if there was anything else. "Minho and Newt might be ticked off about this since they didn't get a heads up. Don't worry though, I'll talk to them."

"Gee, thanks."

"You have my number in case you need to call me...hmm...let's see... Stay on the campus, don't wander off, always text me before you leave the dorm-"

"Thomas- I'll be fine!" Chuck snapped, standing up from the couch and crossing his arms. "You don't need to baby me!"

"I know, I know- I'm just trying to be responsible!" I replied, raising my hands up in defense. I realized that I _was_ babying him a little bit, and I felt bad.

I knew Chuck could take care of himself, but I just didn't want him getting hurt. I know I make fun of him and mess with him all the time, but I love him, and if anything ever happened to him while in my charge, I could never forgive myself. Ever.

He stared at me, his face morphing from annoyance into forgiveness. Then he smiled and said,

"Eh, it's fine. After all you are my brother, even if you you do look like clunk."

I shook my head, smiling. This punk. _One time_ I mentioned me and my room mates list of secret cuss words, and he never forgets.

"Oh you'll pay for that, slinthead."

I pulled him on the couch and started roughing up his hair, holding him down as he laughed and tried to wiggle away.

"Let me go!"

"Nevah!"

I laughed too, a genuine feeling of joy that I hadn't felt for a while. I thought maybe having Chuck here wouldn't be so bad after all. Hopefully we would have some time to hang out, in between my classes and studying. And hopefully Minho and Newt wouldn't mind having him here for two weeks.

* * *

**~Minho's POV~**

Ok. I'll be honest.

I'm not the smartest guy. Going to college wasn't my first intention, but Newt and Thomas encouraged me to do it and the fact that the three of us would be roomates was pretty much the only reason I said yes.

It's really shucking hard and almost _all_ of my professors hate me for some stupid reason.

_Almost_ all of them.

There are very few reasons I haven't dropped out of college yet. Thomas and Newt are the first reason, duh.

The second reason is Professor Gallagher.

Professor Gallagher is the _awesomest_ teacher on campus. He's my English 1 professor, and he's the coolest teacher I've ever had.

He makes it so easy to learn, so naturally his class is the only one I'm passing. Plus he's hilarious, let's us call him by his first name, and acts like our friend instead of our professor.

I seriously think he was somehow placed to work here by accident, because he is literally the ONLY nice professor on campus. Everyone else is pretty much evil. Basically.

I'm so glad I have him as a teacher.

Sometimes when I need help studying and Thomas and Newt aren't around, I go to him for help. And that's where I was headed right now.

He's pretty much everyone's favorite teacher so I wasn't surprised to see a lot of other students in his classroom, sitting around working or just hanging out. He was talking to a student with his hand on their shoulder when I approached him.

"So just give that a try and see if it works for you, muchacho. And if not, you're definitely screwed."

The student laughed, thanked him, and walked off. That's when he noticed me.

"Minho, my favorite _alborotador_! What's going on?"

I shrugged. "Not much, Jorge. Just wanted to say hi to my favorite teacher."

He laughed and clapped his hand on my back (rather roughly, but I'm used to it by now).

"You are such a suck up, aren't you? Well you came at the perfect time because I have a bunch of Halloween candy left that I need to get rid of."

My eyed went wide. "Ooh! I love candy!"

He smirked at me. "I thought so."

I followed him to behind his gigantic desk and he pulled out a bowl of candy, setting it on top. He motioned for me to grab some.

"Help yourself, muchacho."

"Can I have all of it?"

"HAHA- _no_. I still have other students, remember?"

I pouted. "Fine."

I started stuffing a bunch of candy in my pockets when out of the corner of my eye I saw someone skipping over to where we were standing.

I looked up and saw that it was Brenda, smiling happily.

I smiled back.

"Hey Brenda!"

"I_ love_ you!"

Wait- WHAT?!

My eyes popped out of my head. My stomach dropped. I felt my face heat up.

WHAT?!

Then I noticed she wasn't exactly smiling at me. She was smiling at Jorge, and she skipped right into his arms into his giant bear hug.

"So I take it you got my gift?" He asked, smiling happily back.

"Yes! But it's not even my birthday- why did you get me a gift?" She asked, stepping away from his hug.

He shrugged. "I just felt like doing something nice for you."

Wait a minute...

WHAT?!

I stood there goggling at them in jealously. So apparently they had a really great relationship, because he had gotten her a gift out of the blue. And they could hug without it being awkward. And she was allowed to say she loved him.

This was not normal behavior. Even _if_ she was (apparently) his favorite student.

This is not ok with me. I always kind of thought I was his favorite student... After all, I _am_ his "_favorite alborotador!_"

...Even tho I still have no clue what that means...

But still! After all this time,_ Brenda_ was his favorite and she never told me? _Jorge_ never told me?

What_ is_ this madness?!

Brenda noticed my inner turmoil and asked if I was okay.

My eye twitched.

"Perfectly fine. So... you two seem very close."

She smiled proudly.

"Of course! I'm really glad we are."

Jorge patted her hair.

"My little_ sobrina_ is a blessing in my life."

I wanted to cry.

"Oh. Well that's just nice. Very nice."

Brenda raised her eyebrow and frowned.

"Minho, are you ok?"

"Just. Dandy."

She and Jorge exchanged a look of concern.

"Are you sure? You look kinda constipated." Jorge commented.

I tried not to glare at him.

"My bowels are functioning just fine, thankyouverymuch."

Brenda eyed the bowl of candy next to me on the table.

"Maybe you shouldn't eat so much candy." She offered.

"Yeah- I take back what I said, you can't have any of my candy."

"I have some medicine if you need any?"

"Minho, maybe you need some rest."

"Want me to walk you back to your dorm?"

"WILL YOU TWO STOP IT?" I yelled, throwing my hands up in the hair and willing them to shut up.

They stopped talking.

"I'm going to take as much candy as I want, I don't need any freaking help, and I'm NOT CONSTIPATED!"

The classroom was silent. I didn't need to turn around to know every eye was on me.

Jorge cleared his throat. "Alright, everyone back to work!" The classroom slowly began to fill with noise.

I crossed my arms and glared at the both of them. They both looked worried. They both had one arm crossed over their stomach, with their other arm resting on it and their hands on their mouths. Brenda was covering her mouth and Jorge was scratching his chin.

They looked scarily related.

"Gosh, you two almost look related like that." I said, curling my eyebrows.

Brenda squinted at me.

"Minho... we are related."

"...What?"

"Muchacho, she's my niece. I said that already, in Spanish." Jorge told me.

"...What?"

They both sighed.

Brenda took a step towards me and grabbed my arms. I felt my face heat up again. She smiled gently at me.

"Come on. I'll walk you to your dorm. Make you some hot chocolate."

I felt like crying again. I really _was_ Jorge's favorite? They were _related_?!

"...Ok."

We said goodbye to Jorge, who also smiled gently at me (and mumbled something about getting rid of his candy) and then Brenda led me away. She was still holding my arm. My face still felt hot.

"Don't worry, Minho. You can snuggle on the couch with a blanket in your favorite Bucky Barnes slippers. I'll make us some delicious hot chocolate and then we'll watch I Love Lucy reruns until you fall asleep." Brenda said in a comforting tone.

It sounding very tempting. Plus I hadn't watched I Love Lucy for a while. One thing was missing, tho.

"Can you put marshmallows in my hot cocoa?" I asked her, blinking and pouting.

She patted my head.

"Of course, my precious fish. Of course."

* * *

It was late in the evening, almost curfew. Students were packing up their things and heading for their dorms, running and giggling through the crisp night air. In a small courtyard area where there once was a beautiful rose garden (now dead, courtesy of the winter season), Newt found himself limping slowly with his hand dragging across the brick vine wall.

His blue eyes were glazed over and cast downward, his left hand lazily grazing over the vines on the wall while his right hand constantly opened and closed; clutching tightly when closed and then opening slowly as if stuck together with superglue.

He walked slowly, dizzily trying to get from point A to point B. For some reason though he couldn't figure out where point B was. He felt so, so tired. Drained of energy. In desperate need of water and fuel. He couldn't concentrate his eyes on anything without it becoming a fuzzy blur.

He couldn't help but think maybe he shouldn't have lost so much blood. Maybe he needed that blood. Maybe he shouldn't have hurt himself?

Whenever he thought about that, however, tears would start forming in his eyes. So he didn't want to think about it. He definitely didn't think about that, or his sister's death, or anything else that would cause the tears to appear.

The frosty air was getting colder, and Newt was barely stumbling near the exit of the courtyard when Alby appeared at the entrance. He was walking fast, looking down at his phone and texting, when he noticed Newt. He looked up.

"Newt! Hey man, what's up?"

Alby caught up to him after he realized that something was terribly wrong with his friend. Newt had stopped walking and was leaning against the brick wall, clutching onto the vines as if he might collapse. His eyes were murky, still cast downward. His breath was shallow, his face extremely pale.

He had strategically worn a long sleeved T shirt so that Alby (and everyone else) wouldn't notice the self-inflicted wound on his left wrist.

Alby's face immediately filled with concern.

"Newt? Are you okay?" he asked, reaching out and placing his hand on Newt's shoulder.

The blonde boy flinched at the touch.

"What happened? Are you sick?"

Newt started shaking his head repeatedly, mumbling something incoherently under his breath.

Alby curled his eyebrows, unable to understand.

"Man, just talk to me. Do you need me to take you to the hospital?"

"_NO_!"

Alby stepped back, shocked at Newt's sudden exclamation and change in attitude. He waited as Newt slowly looked up at him, a feeble look on his face.

"It was my fault... she died, and it's all my fault..." He mumbled, shaking his head slowly.

Alby's level of concern had risen a considerable amount.

"Come on, Newt. Just come with me. It's not your fault. Nobody's dead."

"But it _is_ my fault... I wasn't watching her... I was watching her but I wasn't... she was my sister. I let her die. She was so young..."

Alby felt a sick feeling in his stomach. Did Newt have a sister? He never mentioned her before. Is what he was saying true?

Either way, he was definitely sick and he needed help.

"Newt, it's gonna be ok, man. Just come with me. You'll be ok." Alby told him softly, reaching out again to grab his arm.

Newt swatted his arm away and stumbled back, staring at Alby like he was a monster.

"No! It _was_ my fault!"

"Newt, please-"

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Newt yelled before taking off, stumbling at first before running as fast as he could.

* * *

**~Thomas' POV~**

I was heading to my dorm when Alby stopped me.

"Man, you need to find Newt. He's really sick."

I already knew about his cutting. What I _didn't_ know was that he apparently had a dead sister that he blamed himself for.

When Alby found me and told me all of this, he looked really freaked out, and really worried. Something really bad was going on with Newt.

I texted him and tried calling him like a trillion times. Minho told me he wasn't at the dorm, so I decided to stay up past curfew to go and find him.

If anyone caught me and gave me a hard time then I'll just tell them the truth, because this is a legit reason to stay up. Newt is in danger of himself. He's my best friend, and I'm gonna help him whether he wants it or not.

First I checked the courtyard where Alby told me they were. Then I checked everywhere around there. Then I checked all his classrooms and anywhere else I thought he'd be.

It was extremely late, dark, and freezing. I was peeking inside the library when I heard footsteps behind me.

"Newt?" I called out, turning around and hoping it was him. It was too dark to tell.

"No. It's me, Vice President Janson."

I cringed.

"Uh... are you sure?"

A light flashed in my eye, blinding me for a second before moving away. I blinked before reopening my eyes to see VP Janson, in the flesh, standing there holding a flashlight.

"I'm sure." He replied curtly.

Well _crap_.

Didn't I have a really good excuse to be out here? Come on, I need to be brave!

I couldn't help it though. He was really scary. I just stared at him like a scared idiot.

"Thomas, we need to talk."

"Uh, yes sir- but first, uh, I need to explain why I'm out here, my friend- you see- um, he-"

"Are you familiar with TGA's Future Engineer Competition?"

I blinked. What is he talking about? Am I not in trouble? What the heck is going on?

"Uh, no sir...?"

He squinted at me. Then he pulled a folded piece of piece from out of his suit pocket and handed it to me. I carefully took it, opened it and read.

It was a registration form for "The Glader Academy's Future Engineer Competition" for this year. Interestingly, the place where an engineer professor had to sign was already filled out- by MY Mechanical Engineer professor.

I looked up at Rat Man. He was waiting patiently.

"Sir, I don't understand."

"This is a form for a competition that we hold here every year, for people that have high skills in engineering. Not just anyone can enter; you have to have perfect grades in your engineering class and other classes. I had the liberty of having this brought to your teacher, and he passed you. You've been ok'd to enter the competition."

I looked down at the paper. Then back up to him.

He sighed, realizing I still had no idea what this is about.

"Thomas, you enjoy your mechanical engineering class?"

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, I mean yeah it's fun, but that's kinda the only reason I took it. I thought it'd be run. It's not like I'm gonna major in mechanical engineering."

He frowned.

"Thomas, you have a magnificent gift- why waste it? There are people here, you being one of them, that are too intelligent to use their skills just for _fun_. Use them to _create_. This competition is an excellent opportunity for you to test your abilities and to do exactly that: create."

I raised my eyebrow. "What's the competition about, exactly?"

He motioned for me to look at my paper. I did, but he explained out loud anyway.

"The people who are accepted into the competition are each tasked with designing a prototype of a high-functioning machine that can benefit the school without having to waste money and resources by getting it fixed or replaced as the years go by."

"So basically they want us to build an elevator or an AC unit that won't break down for a super duper long time?" I asked, frowning.

He smiled. "Precisely. The winner's design will be used for the school, and the winner will also get a free four-year scholarship. Tuition completely paid. However, it also costs to get into the competition."

"How much money?"

"You don't need to worry about that. The members of the TGA board, me included, all agreed that you were a perfect candidate capable of winning. That's why we decided, if you choose to accept, to sponsor you."

My eyes popped out of my sockets and my jaw disconnected. I think I might have landed some spit on his suit when I cried,

"_What_?! Are you kidding me?"

Rat Man grabbed the tissue from his lapel and wiped the spit from his suit, same time as he replied, "I am most definitely not kidding you."

"But- but this is just a competition within the school! Sponsoring just one student because you'd think I'd win... Isn't that against the rules?" I asked, feeling completely confused and extremely excited at the same time.

I mean, seriously- what is going on?!

Rat Man smiled at me. "Thomas, this is something that the board of the school agreed on doing, and we would _never_ enforce breaking the rules, I assure you. Also- we want whatever is best for the school, and paying for the one person that we know would build the _best_ machine for the school? Now, I think that sounds like the best thing to do, don't you?"

It sounded fishy. Very fishy and also somewhat suspicious. But here was the Vice Principal of the college, coming to me in the middle of the night- and instead of getting me in trouble he gives me an opportunity to enter a competition in which I don't even have to pay for, to build something super freaking awesome that'll ultimately just help this crap school become a little less crappy, and if I win I won't have to pay for college for the next four years.

I was sold.

I tried not to smile too much as I folded the paper and carefully placed it in my pocket. "Ok, I'll do it. But how do you know that I'll build the best machine?" Memories suddenly flashed through my mind, of Rat Man telling me about the great things he was expecting me to do. Is this what he was talking about?

He just smiled at me with his creepy lips and dead eyes. I tried not to shudder.

"Don't worry about that, Thomas. The school and I have complete faith in you. We know you'll do what's right."

The rest of our midnight meeting was a blur. I thanked him, he said something about not breaking curfew again, and the we went our separate ways. I tried calling Newt again but he didn't pick up. I checked a couple more places before I decided to go back to our dorm, hoping he was there.

When I got there, tho, he wasn't. Just Minho asleep on the couch with his Bucky Barnes slippers on and I Love Lucy playing on TV. Chuck was in the bedroom, sleeping on Minho's bed.

Weird. Really, really weird. I decided to shrug it off.

I turned the TV off and sat on the ground in front of the couch. There were two mugs on the floor, and I smiled at the thought of Chuck and Minho catching up and hanging out.

But why would they be sleeping in each other's beds? And Chuck hates I Love Lucy. That's something Minho and Brenda would do.

I decided (again) to just leave it alone. I'd ask the two of them in the morning. I had more important things to think about...

What could I do? Why didn't he tell us about his sister? And why is he shutting us out instead of asking for help- we're his best friends, we're never gonna hate him despite what he thinks he's done in the past.

I leaned against the couch and sighed. Minho snorted in his sleep, then kept on snoring, cuddling close with his blanket. I reached into my pocket and opened the Engineer Competition paper.

How could I even think about this when Newt is out there alone, doing who knows what?

I glared at the paper, crumbled it and threw it across the room.

Then I ran across the room and uncrumbled it.

"Ugh...gosh darn it all."

I decided to make myself (and Newt, even though he wasn't there to hear it) a promise: I wouldn't sign up for this competition until I talked to Newt and made sure he was safe. In fact, I wouldn't even think about it. Not until I knew Newt was okay.

I folded the paper once more and then slipped it underneath our PS3, willing myself not to forget where I put it later on.

Minho snorted again. Then he mumbled,

"But I do want the unicorns...hmm, my favorite breakfast..."

I raised my eyebrow. Then I quietly slipped into the bedroom and went to bed.

I hoped that wherever Newt was, he was safe. I hoped tomorrow would be a better day.

* * *

A/N: Yarr.

Ok so I'm now in love with Bucky Barnes/the Winter Solider/Sebastian Stan. And I ship WinterWidow like SSSO hardcore. It just makes so much sense.

I'll try to update soon, but like I said upstairs, I'm going on a 2 week vacation next week. Sooo... we'll see.

I'msorryiloveyoualldontkillmebuckyishotkbye.

_-Lurky_


	7. Bad

A/N: HOLA MI AMIGAS AND AMIGOS! Just kidding I don't speak Spanish. BUT I'm back from my vacation and I'm ready to bring this story back to life! I don't have time to respond to your reviews but I read all of them and I just wanted to say THANK YOU so much for your comments! Gosh they make me so happy! :)

Ok, onto the story!

* * *

**\- it was bad, but it was for him -**

**~Chuck's POV~**

* * *

I woke up to the smell of chocolate chip waffles. I was so excited to have a delicious buttery waffle breakfast, but when I went out into the living room I saw that Minho had just heated up some frozen waffles.

I was thoroughly disappointed.

_But_ at least they were still chocolate chip.

"Morning, Minho," I said while smiling brightly, randomly appreciating the fact that I was a morning person.

Minho jumped out of his skin hearing my voice; the waffle in his hand went flying and landed on the other side of the room behind the TV.

Oh right. He didn't know that I was here yet.

Oops.

"Chuck?! You scared the _klunk_ out of me!" He accused, placing a hand over his chest and trying to catch his breath.

I shrugged innocently.

"Sorry dude. I guess Thomas didn't tell you that I was here. I'm staying with you guys for a couple of weeks."

I found my way into the kitchen and started loading a plate with frozen waffles.

Minho frowned.

"Oh. Guess he forgot to tell me." He placed two more frozen waffles in the toaster oven and then started munching on the warm one he already had. "When did you get here?"

"Yesterday morning. When I came back to the dorm last night you were sound asleep on the couch, which was where I was supposed to sleep, so I just slept on your bed. Hope you don't mind."

"Nah that's fine. As long you didn't fart in it."

He looked up at me, eyeing me suspiciously.

I blinked.

"Uuuuum..."

"Just kidding, Chuckie," he started laughing at me and I just rolled my eyes.

Same old Minho. Joking about everything as usual.

After his waffles were ready we relocated to the couch and turned on the TV. Minho started flipping through channels and eating a waffle at the same time.

"So why were you sleeping on the couch last night?" I asked him, chewing hungrily on my frozen waffle.

"Brenda and I were hanging out last night and after she left I kinda just crashed." He shrugged, still flipping through the channels. "You probably don't remember Brenda."

I gave him a look.

"Minho, we all went to the same high school- the same one that I'm still in. And Brenda hung out at our house all the time. I haven't forgotten about her."

He stopped chewing his waffle and slowly pouted his lips. Then he turned to me.

"Oh... ok."

I laughed at him and he threw a pillow at my face.

"Hey, in my defense I haven't seen you in forever so I don't know who you know or knew or whatever the shuck!" he stuffed the rest of the waffle in his mouth and crossed his arms stubbornly.

I grabbed the remote and turned the cable off, then I got on my knees and started setting up a video game to play.

"So what were you and Brenda doing?" I asked, looking through the games that they had.

"Just chilling," I heard him say after a moment's hesitation.

"Sounds fun. How is she, by the way?"

"She's good... hey, did you know she has an uncle named Jorge who apparently works here as a teacher?"

"Yeah. He's a cool dude."

"Wait- you've met him?" He asked, sounding surprised.

I popped a disc into the PS3 and then sat back on the couch, handing him a controller while turning mine on.

"Him and Brenda came over to our house during the summer to hang out. We made homemade ice cream and he told us funny stories of when he was a kid."

Minho fiddled with the controller, pouting his lips.

"Well gee, thanks for the invite."

I eyed him.

"Do you have a thing for middle aged college professors?"

"_NO_, but he _is_ my favorite professor. And it's fun hanging out with Brenda." Minho shrugged as we started playing Destiny.

I raised my eyebrow suspiciously.

"And you and Thomas too, of course." He added as an afterthought.

"So... do you have like a crush on Brenda or something?"

"WHAT?!"

"Because I can't help noticing you two hang out a lot. And you say you like hanging out with her."

His face turned as red as a cherry.

"Why would that mean I have a _crush_ on her? Psh. Pft. Crush? Seriously dude, what are you? In Pre-K?" He stuttered, avoiding my eyes.

I didn't even try to hide my smile.

"You are such a shank, Minho. It's so obvious you like her. The way that you're blushing _while_ you're trying to deny it just proves that I'm right."

We looked at each other- me wiggling my eyebrows, and him with wide eyes and a sweaty, red face.

"_BLEH_!" He yelled as he kicked me off the couch and ran to the room, slamming the door behind him.

"OUCH! _Minho_!" I stumbled up and rubbed my injured arm, glaring at the door.

I heard him lock it and decided to just leave him alone. He can deny his feelings all he wants, what do I care?

* * *

When the door opened the first thing that I saw was a beautiful pale face that belonged to Teresa.

"Chuck! Oh my goodness you're here!" She exclaimed, pulling me into a huge hug. I grinned and hugged her back.

I've known Brenda for a while, but I've known Teresa for pretty much my entire life. Her and Thomas were best friends when they were little kids. I always loved hanging out with them and following them and doing whatever it was they did. Sometimes Thomas would get annoyed but Teresa would always stick up for me and convince Thomas to let me join them. She always felt like an older sister to me.

She invited me into her dorm and poured me a cup of hot chocolate (with tiny marshmallows and a little bit of milk and cream, just how I like it). We sat on stools at the counter and drank hot chocolate and caught up.

"How are you doing? How did you get here? _When_ did you get here?" She asked, a million questions at a time.

I smiled at her being so excited. "I got here yesterday; I'm staying for a few weeks while my parents are on vacation."

"Oh, that's wonderful! Where are they vacationing? Are you off from school? How long are you staying?"

I laughed at all the questions and she started laughing too.

"Sorry, Chuck. But I haven't seen you in so long! You look older, by the way. Breaking all the girls hearts, huh?" She patted down my curly hair like she used to do when we were little, and I playfully swatted her hand away.

"Yeah, yeah, I guess." I replied, embarrassed.

She grinned.

"So how about you?" I asked her, wanting to change the subject. "How's college life? I bet you and Thomas are having the greatest time of your lives."

Suddenly her grin faltered. I frowned in concern as she looked away, looking both anxious and sad.

"Chuck... I'm sure Thomas is having a great time, and I am too, but we're not together anymore. In fact... we don't really see each other anymore. At all."

I curled my eyebrows while hearing this news. Did she just say they broke up? And now they don't hang out at _all_?

Say _whaaat_?

"What happened?" I asked, very concerned about this. The last time I checked, my brother and Teresa were in LOVE. How could that have changed?

Teresa held tightly to her hot chocolate and stayed quiet, probably trying to think of how to say it. I took a small sip from my cup and waited patiently.

"He and I... we just didn't work out the way we wanted to. Some relationships just don't work out, and that's ok..."

"But why didn't it work? What happened?" I asked gently, sensing the overwhelming sadness that she was feeling.

"...There was a misunderstanding. I did something, something I did for him so that he would be ok, but he found out from another person- their version of the story- and he didn't realize that what I did was for his sake."

Suddenly she looked up at me, her eyes very serious.

"Chuck... sometimes you do things for people because you love them so much, and you would do anything for them. The thing I did for him wasn't exactly a good thing... and when he found out about what I did from that other person, that's when we started fighting, which eventually led us to break up."

"But why didn't you just tell him?" I asked, a little bit confused on what had happened.

She looked down at her mug. "It was complicated. I couldn't tell him. And I still can't. If I do..."

I looked up at her, waiting for her to finish her sentence, but she never did.

We sat there in silence for a few minutes until she got up and started washing her empty mug. She looked up at me while she washed, smiling.

"Chuck, it was so good to see you. I need to get some cleaning done, but we should hang out another time."

I nodded, standing up and handing her my empty mug.

"Yeah, sounds good. It was great to see you too, Teresa."

She smiled at me again and I smiled back before leaving, wondering what in the world she did to cause them to break up.

I don't understand... Teresa said that whatever she did was for Thomas' sake, but it wasn't good... what's that supposed to mean? And to think Thomas doesn't even know!

I walked sadly through campus, heading back to my brothers dorm. She never made me promise not to tell him about what she said, but I still wouldn't. It was a thing of ours- the three of us. If anything was a secret from one another, or even sounded like a secret, we didn't have to ask each other not to tell. We just knew.

This was going to be hard not to tell him, though. How am I gonna keep this a secret?

* * *

Thomas bumped into Newt while walking into the library.

"N-newt?" He gasped, taking in the unexpected sight of his best friend. "Where have you been? Are you okay?"

Newt looked up at him, his beautiful blue eyes dead and void of any emotion.

Thomas gently grabbed his elbow and directed him to a deserted area with a wooden bench. He sat him down and then sat next to him, taking note of how willing he was to follow him and sit down.

"Newt..." Thomas began, having a hard time staring into the pained eyes of his friend. "Please tell me what happened. I know that you hurt yourself...please tell me why."

Newt stared straight forward and remained silent for a few seconds before speaking. His voice was quiet and hoarse.

"I cut my wrist with scissors because I'm depressed. I've been depressed for a while now."

Thomas' heart sank.

"Why didn't you tell me or Minho? We're your best friends. We could have helped you."

The blonde boy continued to speak in a monotone.

"I didn't want you guys to know the reason why I'm depressed. And I didn't want any help."

Suddenly Alby's voice filled Thomas' head, telling him about Newt's sister. His dead sister. And how he blamed himself for her death.

Very cautiously and in the softest voice he could muster, Thomas whispered, "Is it your sister? Is that why you're depressed?"

Newt looked up, into the caring eyes of his best friend. He nodded.

"It was me, Tommy. My fault. She's gone... sometimes I wish it had been me instead."

Thomas felt tears starting to form. He couldn't take seeing his closest friend in so much pain. He needed to help him- but how could he convince Newt that it wasn't his fault his sister had died? For all Thomas knew, it might have been.

"Newt... it's going to be ok. We all lose people we love. And I don't think for one second she would blame you for her passing. So neither should you."

Newt's eyes changed. Tears were forming in them, from sadness or maybe from being grateful for his words; Thomas didn't know. But he did see a little bit of life in them. Newt, the old Newt- lively and sarcastic and fun- was still there. Deep down. Hopefully he could still come back.

A burst of wind swept through the air, taking the dead leaves with them and causing the tree branches to rustle. The temperature had dropped a considerable amount, and before Thomas could begin talking again, crystal clear snow flakes formulated in the sky and descended to the ground to form snow.

The two friends gazed up into the sky to observe the winter beauty. Thomas was thinking what a horrible moment for it to start snowing; the cold always made everything worse in his opinion. But after glancing at Newt, staring up into the sky with an observant face, he thought otherwise.

Maybe it was just the thing they needed.

* * *

A/N: HOLY CRAP HE FINALLY TALKS TO NEWT WHY DID I TAKE SO LONG TO WRITE THAT?

Ahem... sorry for that. I hope you enjoyed this! I love you all! Merry almost Christmas or happy holidays!

_-Lurky_


	8. Heartbeat

A/N: Let me apologize in advance for this chapter... I think this is the saddest chapter I have_ ever_ written. IT HURTS. OH MY GOSH. It hurt writing this. I just... meh. I can't say anything else because spoils but this chapter is very sad. ):

On a much happier note, if you want to see **a graphic I made for this story** you can go to my tumblr page ( mazelock . tumblr . com ) and do a search for "the glader academy". ALSO I just made an** Instagram page for this story, where I'm going to be uploading videos and more pictures and edits**. You can find it by **going on Instagram and searching for the account,_ thegladeracademy_**.

**Tebolizer:** OH MY GOSH THANK YOU! :D

**FernFalcon:** Thank ye!

**Fan-Fiction-802:** THANKS! :D

**Guest:** Thank you!

**Fangirling4life:** Thank you so much! :) This chapter answers your questions...

**Newtmas:** The update has arrived! :)

* * *

**\- they would be there in a heartbeat -**

* * *

It snowed again that very morning, the morning Minho saw Newt again. Newt was sleeping in the bedroom while Minho, Thomas, and Chuck were in the living area.

Thomas had told Minho what had happened to Newt. Everything that had happened. Minho was silent at first. He always knew Newt had some type of problem he couldn't share with them... he just never imagined it would be _this_.

Newt hurting himself? Blaming himself for his sister's death? Minho didn't even know that he had a sister! The thought of him inflicting pain on himself made Minho feel sick to his stomach.

"Thomas... What are we gonna do?" He asked, leaning against the back of the couch with his arms folded. "We need to help him. Shouldn't we take him to a doctor or something?"

Thomas and Chuck were in the kitchen, Thomas leaning against the counter and facing Minho, and Chuck making sandwiches.

"I offered to take him to the counselor, a doctor, even just a teacher- but he refuses every one of them." Thomas said quietly, his head hanging low. "I called his parents last night and told them what happened. They said they might be able to make it up here to see him."

Minho nodded his head, hoping that his parents could come. They would definitely be able to help.

"In the meantime we need to keep a close eye on him. Hide all the scissors and knives. Just...make sure he's ok."

Minho nodded his head almost absentmindedly, lost in a daze of horrible thoughts. What if he finds something sharp? What if he does it again? What if we get him help and he hates us? What if it gets worse? What if-

"Minho?"

The Asian boy looked up. Chuck looked up from his sandwich making, his face dropping in sadness.

Thomas was staring at him with a stern face. He knew the thoughts going over in his mind, because they had already gone over in _his_ mind. But he wasn't going to let that happen.

"Minho, it's going to be ok. He'll be ok. We just need to help him and he'll get better. He WILL get better. We need to stay strong. For Newt." Thomas kept his eyes locked on Minho's, willing the message to sink itself into his brain.

"...You're right." Minho nodded sternly this time.

They decided to check on Newt before heading off to class. Chuck was to stay at the dorm until they got back to keep an eye on him.

Chuck stepped forward with a plate of two turkey sandwiches and some carrots. "I made him some breakfast... you guys should probably give it to him, tho. I'll stay out here."

Thomas took the plate and placed his hand on his brother's shoulder. He gave him a very sad smile. "Thank you, Chuck."

Thomas glanced at Minho one last time before the two of them headed into the bedroom.

The fan was on, faced towards Newt's bed. He was underneath a bunch of blankets and pillows. Minho shook him softly, hoping he was awake.

The blankets and pillows disarrayed and Newt's head appeared. He had headphones in his ears but he took one out so he could listen. There were bags under his eyes and he looked very pale.

Minho turned the fan off so he could hear them better.

"Hey Newt... How ya feeling?" He asked, his voice soft.

The boy in the bed shrugged.

"We brought you some breakfast," Thomas announced quietly, raising the plate for emphasis. "Chuck made it."

"Ok." Newt said hoarsely.

Thomas placed the plate on his bedside table. Then he looked back to Newt, wondering if he would even touch it.

"Minho and I are leaving for our classes now but Chuck will be here if you need anything."

Newt nodded slightly, staring up at them with dead eyes.

Minho and Thomas exchanged a worried look.

"Do you need anything before we leave?" Minho asked, hoping he would say yes.

"No."

Minho nodded his head. "Ok. Well... see you later, dude. Don't do anything stupid until we get back."

Thomas gave Minho a pointed look, wondering why he had to go and say that. He knew humor was Minho's sword and shield, but it wasn't the right thing for this situation at all.

Newt didn't seem to care, tho. He didn't seem to care about anything anymore.

"Bye." He said before popping in his earbud and disappearing behind the blankets once more.

* * *

**~Brenda's POV~**

I met Minho at the Homestead for lunch. Apparently everyone else was too busy with "studying" to join in, so it was just the two of us.

We sat at a two-person table near the front door. After we ordered our food I realized something was wrong with him. Not that he was sick or anything, but I could tell something bad had happened.

It was obvious. The fact that he hadn't cracked a joke yet and how he was staying very quiet. The sadness in his eyes was evident, and I found myself feeling sad as well.

"Minho, are you ok?" I asked, thinking maybe it wasn't as bad as it seemed.

Boy was I wrong.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's not me... It's Newt." He looked at me with a melancholy expression on his face.

"Newt? Is he ok? What happened?" For some reason my heart started beating faster. I had the strangest feeling that something really bad had happened to Newt.

_Newt_. He's the nicest, awesomest, greatest friend in the world. How could something bad have happened to him?

Minho looked down before speaking again. He didn't look me in the eyes when he answered.

"He has depression. It's really bad. He has... well, _had_ a sister that passed away when they were kids, and he blames himself for it." Minho looked up at me, the sorrow and distress so clear on his face. "He hurt himself with scissors a few days ago. I didn't even know about it."

My hands covered my mouth automatically, as if they had a mind of their own. I started to shake my head but then I stopped. Minho was staring at me with this face that was so broken-hearted, so lost and rejected; I felt like I was drowning in his stare. I couldn't move. I couldn't _breathe._

Newt didn't _have_ a sister... did he? He would _never_ hurt himself! ...Right? I couldn't believe this happened. I didn't exactly _want_ to believe it. You can't just go through your day, have lunch and then- BOOM! You find out one of your closest friends has _depression_!

Minho remained quiet, waiting for me to reply, but I didn't know what to say. Is he ok? Of COURSE he's not ok! I couldn't bring myself to ask about how he hurt himself... I couldn't even imagine how much pain he was in right now. Psychical and emotional...

Oh Newt... oh my gosh, _Newt_...

"..Wh...where is he?" I asked finally, after forcing myself not to cry.

"In our dorm. Chuck is taking care of him until we get back." Minho replied, clearing his throat. "Thomas is checking on him right now, bringing him some lunch."

"Have you called his parents yet?" I asked, feeling my heart shatter for them. How horrible would it be, while your kid was off in college, you found out they had gotten seriously injured- by their own hand?

"Thomas called them last night. They already knew about his depression, how he blames himself for his sister's passing, but he had to tell them about..." Minho cleared his throat again, casting his eyes aside. "Well, you know."

"So if they already knew, maybe he has some medicine that can help him? What did his parents say?"

"They said he was supposed to be taking medicine to help him but he hasn't been... I think they're gonna come up and see him sometime soon."

I nodded again, thinking that was a good idea. If anybody would know how to help Newt, it was definitely going to be his parents.

"Brenda," I looked up quickly when Minho spoke my name. He gazed into my eyes with the same heart broken face he had on before. "His parents, they said... they said this isn't the first time this has happened."

"What do you mean-?"

"This isn't the first time Newt has hurt himself."

At that, I didn't know what to do. I just sat there.

And then I got up and hugged Minho as tightly as I could.

"Minho... I'm sorry. I'm so, so, so, so sorry."

"It's ok. He's gonna be ok. He's gonna be ok..."

"My gosh... I'm sorry." I whispered.

I hugged him for as long as I could. I just wanted to comfort him. I just wanted it to be ok.

Tears finally escaped from my face and all I heard was him repeating the same thing over again:

"He's gonna be ok. He's gonna be ok."

* * *

**~Thomas' POV~**

Classes were over for the day. Minho and I were back at the dorm and Chuck had left to work on his school work at the library.

Newt was still in bed. He hadn't eaten anything all day except for a couple of carrots. Minho was in the room with him now catching him up on what he missed for today.

I was laying on the couch trying to call his parents, but his dad's phone wouldn't pick up and his mom's phone line was busy. I redialed both phones a couple of times but all I got was static.

Newt's dad operated his own business and his mom had a full-time job, so I wasn't that surprised that neither of them were picking up. But I kind of imagined they would be a little more worried about Newt... like maybe they would be here already.

I shouldn't judge them, tho. Every family is different. My parents are very family-oriented so maybe that's why I think like that. If something like this were to happen to me or Chuck, they would be here in a heartbeat.

I threw my phone aside and sat up, sitting forward off the couch and resting my elbows on my knees. This day had been _so_ hectic. Three tests, an hour long debate on social conflicts, worrying about Newt, starting a project in my mechanical engineering class, and to top it all of I didn't have lunch. I _really_ hoped that tomorrow would be a better day.

I was about to stand up to go make myself some food when I remembered something- mechanical engineering. Something about a competition...

Suddenly I looked towards the PS3, remembering a piece of paper I had buried underneath it. I lifted it up and lo and behold, there it was. I quickly grabbed it and opened it, reading it to remember what it was supposed to be.

TGA's Future Engineer Competition. That's right... Rat Man gave this to me, offered to sponsor me and everything. And then I had hidden it underneath the PS3 and promised myself not to sign up for it until I made sure Newt was okay.

I glanced towards the door of the bedroom where Newt and Minho were. Should I sign up for it now? Newt isn't exactly okay yet... but he's better then before, I think. He's not hurting himself anymore or wandering around campus all alone.

I glanced back down at the paper, frowning. If I did sign up for it, I knew life would just get even more hectic and busy. I already have school work to focus on, studying and my project to do, and I need to take care of Newt first and foremost. Then there's that party Ben is throwing for his birthday coming up soon and I haven't even gotten him a gift yet.

Man... I don't know what to do. To be honest, I really _do_ wanna sign up for this. It sounds like it would be super fun and awesome- and if I win, I get a free scholarship. But I don't have _time_ for it... I just need to focus on helping Newt.

I refolded it and slipped it into my pocket, deciding to think about it later. I won't count it out yet. Not yet.

Minho came out of the bedroom and flopped onto the couch next to me, sighing loudly.

"How's he doing?" I asked, wondering if I should talk to Minho about the competition.

"Better, I think. He finally ate a sandwich. And I got him to do a bit of studying." Minho replied, shrugging. "He's still in that blanket cocoon."

I smiled a bit. "He's making progress, even if it's small. That's good."

"Yeah, I know..." Minho grabbed the pillow and hugged it tightly, looking down. "When are his parents coming? I feel like they'll be able to help him better then we can."

"I keep trying to call him but neither of them will pick up."

"_Slintheads_."

"Come on Minho, they're both full-time workers, remember? They're probably super stressed out...like us."

Minho sat up and turned to look at me, saying, "Sure, but that's no reason to neglect your son! Especially when he's shucking _depressed_!"

I shrugged, wanting this conversation to be over already. Wanting Newt to be better already. Wanting this school year to just end.

Minho and I sat there and stared at the blank TV screen, wallowing in worry and probably self-pity as well. I know I was. But that's human nature, I guess. We always look out for #1.

"This is the shuckiest shuckest day of my life." Minho grumbled, slamming the pillow against his head.

"Mine too, dude." I agreed, wishing for a thousand things that would never come true unless I got off my lazy butt and made them happen myself.

"Mine too."


	9. Easier

AN: **PLEASE READ!**

Ok, just a few things before this chapter begins.

**1.** If you don't already know, I made an Instagram for this story where I post pictures and whatnot and where you can find out if I'm working on the next chapter and how soon I can update next. Search for the account "thegladeracademy"

**2.** Comments are VERY appreciated! They really encourage me to keep writing and they only take a couple of seconds to write. Thank you for all of the people who have been commenting!

**3.** This. Chapter. Is. Sad. I'm warning you right now. You're going to hate me. Ok. That's all. Moving on.

**BookwormQueen1234:** OH GOSH ok well Newt will be okay _eventually_... and your other question? You'll just have to read and find out...

**QuinnDeRavensborough:** Aw thank you! :) Oh my gosh that's a lot of kids haha! Why would they be redheaded tho? Dude, Scaryween- I'll totally do that too. Confuse EVERYONE. Thank you for your comment! :)

**Tebolizer: **TAKE SOME MOAR DEEP BREATHES BRO YOU'RE GONNA NEED IT um I mean thank you for the comment don't hate me kbye.

**FernFalcon:** Yas, welcome to the Brinho shipping club! :D Woot woot! I'm sorry for your sadness. D:

**Newtellagoose:** THANK YOU. PLEASE DONT CRY.

**Junepepper and niji: **O: Yeah I probably deserved that slap... I promise I don't stalk you, I just love Minho so much, Chuck is so adorbs I just I can't even I what I cant speak, Doctor Who is amazing tell your friends I said hi, oh and THANK YOO.

**Guest:** THANKS!

**WARNING: ATTEMPTED SUICIDE - _PLEASE_ DO NOT READ IF THIS WILL AFFECT YOU IN ANY NEGATIVE WAY**

* * *

**\- being dead might be a lot easier -**

* * *

It was the morning of Ben's party. Chuck, Minho, and Thomas were hanging out in the living room while Newt's parents were in the bedroom talking to Newt. Minho and Thomas were staring anxiously at the closed bedroom door.

"I hope everything's going good in there," Thomas said suddenly, turning to face the other two. "I really hope Newt starts feeling better soon."

"Me too, dude," Minho replied, "He doesn't deserve any of this."

Chuck nodded his head in agreement. Thomas had told him about what had happened to Newt.

The door to the bedroom opened and everyone's heads looked up. Mr. and Mrs. Sangster walked out, closing the door softly behind them.

Thomas and Minho jumped up from the couch and walked over to stand near them.

"So," Thomas started. "Is he going to be ok?"

The British couple exchanged a knowing glance.

"We brought him some antidepressants," Mrs. Sangster said in a tender voice. "We reminded him that if he takes them then he will feel better. If he continues to use them he should start doing a lot better soon enough." She clasped her hands together in front of her, smiling kindly, but her eyes revealed the true sadness that she was experiencing.

The two roommates nodded.

"And there's one more thing," Mr. Sangster said. "Medicine sure does work, but it's also good to be there for him as a friend. It's bad for him to be cramped up in the dark all day long. He needs to see the sunlight; take him out and about and let him have a bit of fresh air. See some other friends. Try to have some fun."

The boys nodded, taking this into account. The couple looked at each other one last time before deciding to depart.

"Thank you for being such great friends to our son," Mrs. Sangster said, smiling graciously. "We can't thank you enough for helping him."

Thomas and Minho looked at each other sheepishly, and Thomas shrugged.

"Um... your welcome, Mrs. Sangster. Newt is our best friend. We'd do anything for him."

Newt's parents thanked them one last time before leaving the premises.

Minho sighed after closing the door. He turned around and glanced at their dorm. Messy as usual. Thomas was standing near Newt's door, and Chuck was on the couch.

"So... what should we do?"

"Let's play Super Smash Brothers. I'll kick the klunk right out of you, Thomas." Chuck said, grinning confidently.

Minho squinted at him.

"I think he meant, what should we do about Newt," Thomas explained to his younger brother.

"Oh." Chuck scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "...whoops."

Thomas turned to Minho, thinking about different possibilities. What could they do for Newt? His mom had said the medicine would work, but his dad had said to take him out. Make sure he's not in the dorm all the time.

"Hey... Ben's party tonight? How about that?" Thomas suggested, raising his eyebrow.

"Hmm... yeah, I suppose so. But are you sure the environment- ya know, drinking and partying- would be good for Newt?" Minho asked.

Thomas stared at Minho incredulously.

"Minho. I think that is the most intelligent, mature thing you have ever said in your entire life."

Minho rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, that's _probably_ true BUT either way, I won't even be there. Tonight's my last night of detention."

Thomas crossed his arms and gave Minho a look. "And whose fault is that?"

Minho blinked his eyes and smiled innocently.

"Can I come?" Chuck asked.

"Absolutely not." Thomas replied quickly. "College party. No kids."

"Aww."

"Sorry shank." The older brother replied, in fact, not sorry at all.

Minho grinned in amusement.

"Well how about this," Thomas announced. "We talk to Newt and see what he thinks. If he wants to go then Brenda and I will take him and you can just join up with us later."

Minho shrugged, bummed out that he would be missing out on most of it. But even if he wasn't there he was glad to know Thomas and Brenda would be there for him- for Newt.

He was happy that Newt would be getting out, and hopefully, getting better.

"Yeah, ok. Sounds good to me."

* * *

"Hello?"

"Hey. It's Thomas."

"Oh hey! What's up?"

"Are you still going to Ben's party tonight?"

"Heck yeah! You are too, right? Because Minho's in detention and Teresa might not come and I don't wanna look like a loner-"

"Yeah, yeah I'm coming... yeah."

"Ok, cool."

"Listen... Newt is coming too, and I was wondering if you could help me just... keep an eye on him, help him have a good time?"

"Yeah, of course. Is he doing better?"

"His parents came by and his dad told us it's not good for him to stay cramped in the dorm all the time, so Minho and I thought it would be a good idea to take him to the party."

"I think that's a great idea, Thomas. And I'm so glad his parents got to visit him. Maybe getting out is just what Newt needs to start feeling better. Yeah, I'll definitely hang out with you guys tonight."

"Thanks, Brenda. You're awesome."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. See you tonight!"

"Later."

Brenda hung up and slipped her phone back into her pocket. Sonya looked up from her spot on the bean bag chair and asked,

"Who was that?"

Brenda flopped on the purple bean bag next to her and replied,

"Thomas. I'm going to the party with him and Newt."

"Ooh sounds fun. I wish I could come but I really need to finish this essay tonight." Sonya told her, typing into her laptop. Her typing slowly died down and her gaze remained on the laptop screen when she asked,

"Is Newt doing ok?"

Brenda looked down, wondering how much she should or shouldn't say. She decided to trust Sonya, despite how annoying she tended to be.

"Not really. Actually... he has depression."

Sonya stopped typing altogether. Her face became impassive, and if Brenda had turned to look at her that moment it would've been hard to tell what she was thinking.

"He's been doing really bad lately, so Thomas is thinking Ben's party might cheer him up. He..." Brenda swallowed hard. "He hurt himself and nobody knew about it for a while. That's how bad it's been."

"That really, really sucks." Sonya declared. Brenda scoffed, but agreed completely. "He's in a really low place. And that _really_ sucks."

Brenda nodded, closed her eyes, and slumped deeper in her cushy seat, letting out a deep sigh.

"Bree?"

"Mm?"

"When you go tonight, can you tell Newt something for me?"

"Sure."

"Tell him that it gets better. It takes a long time... but it _does_ get better."

Brenda opened one eye to stare curiously at her roommate.

"Ok. I will."

* * *

Ben opened the door to see the shivering faces of Thomas, Newt, and Brenda; their cheeks rosy red from the chilly winter air outside.

"Guys, what's up? Come on in!"

They smiled and said happy birthday as they stepped through the door into his crowded apartment. The room was alive with partygoers, dancing to the loud upbeat music and eating from the food tables that were set up around the place.

"So, I hope you got me a present?" Ben inquired, half joking.

"Of _course_." Brenda replied, grabbing the gift bag that Thomas handed to her and giving it to the birthday boy. "You're going to LOVE it."

"Sweet! Thanks guys. Hey, where's Minho?"

"He's in detention but he might come later on." Thomas told him, barely hearing his own voice over the loud party noise.

"He better come! That shank owes me a present! And 20 bucks..." Ben added, rubbing his chin in deep thought.

Brenda and Thomas exchanged a glance. Newt, who stood in the middle of them, rolled his eyes.

Ben was their friend, and he was a cool guy, but sometimes he could be a bit _odd_.

"So, anyway..." Thomas started saying, trying to think of how to end the awkward moment and get away from Ben. "Guys, wanna get a snack?"

"Sure." Brenda said quickly.

"Absolutely." Newt said at the same time.

Ben snapped out of his thoughts and grinned at them, not detecting their eagerness to get away. "Thanks for coming guys. Have fun!"

The three friends smiled back at him (Newt grimaced) and made their way over to one of the snack tables.

"Holy crap, look at this!" Brenda exclaimed, gazing at the rows of junk food and candy that covered the table. "I may never leave this table. Or this party."

Thomas laughed, grabbing a chocolate fudge brownie and turning to Newt. "I bet these aren't nearly as good as the ones you make."

Newt shrugged, not seeming to be very interested. "Only one way to find out."

Thomas took a bite of the brownie and then pretended to start choking and gagging. "It.." _cough_ "tastes like" _gag cough_ "horse crap!"

Brenda laughed and Newt cracked a tiny smile.

"Wait, let me make sure." Brenda said, grabbing the brownie from Thomas and taking a bite. Her eyes went wide, the brownie fell from her hand and she grabbed her stomach as she pretending to cough and gag.

"Yup, this was definitely made from horse crap. No where _near_ as good as your brownies, Newt." Brenda confirmed, kicking the brownie under the table with her combat boot.

Newt rolled his eyes but smiled a bit more. "Maybe Ben fancies the taste of horse manure?"

"That's just what I was thinking." Thomas remarked matter-of-factly.

They continued to eat and make fun of the party snacks for a while. Newt even started to join in, eating a lot of his favorite snack, gummy worms, to the point of gaining a stomach ache. He kept eating, tho, even taking the jar that contained the gummy worms and keeping it for himself.

They were still gorging themselves at the snack table when Teresa appeared.

"Hey Teresa, join the party!" Brenda said enthusiastically, holding out a plate of chocolate chip cookies towards her.

Thomas stopped eating.

"Thanks Bree!" Teresa smiled and took a cookie. She inserted herself between Thomas and Newt, who were standing opposite each other next to the table. Brenda was standing on the other side.

"So what's going on here? There's barely any snacks left at this table- have you guys inhaled all of it?" She asked, a playful laugh in her voice.

"Tommy started it." Newt stated, holding tightly to his jar of gummy worms.

Teresa turned to Thomas, who was standing there awkwardly holding a bunch of licorice in his hands and trying to avoid Teresa's eyes.

"How are you, Tom?" She asked, her voice softer then before. She had a genuine, friendly smile on her face.

Brenda's eyes were glued to the entire scene, the chocolate chip cookies entirely forgotten.

"Um, good... how are you?" Thomas echoed, not really knowing what to say.

Teresa was talking to him for the first time in a long, long, long long time. And why was that? What about her stupid boyfriend, Aris? Wouldn't he get mad? And why all the sudden is she acting like they're still friends?

"Say, Newt, wanna go see if Alby's here?" Brenda said suddenly. "Or maybe Gally or Fry?"

Newt blinked. "No, not really-"

"Ok let's go!" Brenda grabbed Newt's arm and dashed away, dragging the British blonde along with her.

Teresa silently thanked Brenda.

"So..." Teresa began, trying to appear calm and collected. "Anything exciting happening in school? Probably not, just the same old mean teachers and ridiculous tests..."

Thomas was very confused as to why Teresa was talking to him, but he decided to just forget it and play along. Maybe he was dreaming, or maybe this was some crazy chance for them to fix their relationship. And there was no way he was screwing up that chance.

"Well... actually there's this competition I'm thinking about entering, for mechanical engineering."

Teresa's eyes widened. "Wow, Tom, that's awesome! You would be so great at that!"

Thomas shrugged, immediately embarrassed. "I don't know... It would be fun to do, but it's not like I'd win or anything."

"What?! Thomas O'Brien, shut up right now. You are going to win. Trust me, I know you. And the only reason you wouldn't win is if you didn't sign up." Teresa crossed her arms and gave him a pointed look.

Thomas stared at her, trying not to smile. It's like she hadn't changed at all. In that moment, she was the same girl he knew when they were kids. Smart and stubborn and sometimes bossy.

And he had missed that. He'd missed _her_.

Thomas let himself smile. He held out a piece of licorice candy and said, "Want some?"

Teresa grinned.

"Of course."

* * *

Brenda and Newt found themselves sitting on a small couch in the corner of the room, away from everyone else. Newt still had his jar of gummy worms, and they were both just eating the worms and watching the people, seemingly bored out of their minds.

In truth they both just had a lot to think about. A lot going on.

Newt suddenly realized Brenda was eating his gummy worms. (_Ben's_ gummy worms.)

"Did I say you could eat those?" He asked, not exactly rude but not very nice either.

Brenda grabbed some more, shaking her head.

"Nope."

She continued to chew, and Newt just shrugged and continued to chew also.

They watched as the partygoers started playing limbo. Ben was the first to go under. Then Fry. Then Gally, who jumped over the low limbo stick, starting to break dance. Ben yelled something about him cheating at limbo and then tackled him to the floor. Pretty soon there was a huge dogpile of people on the floor with Gally underneath it all trying to crawl away.

Brenda sighed. "I'm at a party and all I'm doing is sitting around and eating crap. I am so lame."

Newt shrugged. "I guess that makes me pretty lame, too."

"You have a good reason, tho." Brenda stated. They looked at eachother and pretty quickly Brenda realized what she said might have offended him. She looked down in shame. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok, Brenda." Newt told her, not offended. He cared too little to be offended. "I'm assuming you were speaking of my being depressed?"

Brenda felt horrible, but she nodded.

Newt looked down, his gaze becoming a blur. Before he knew it words were spilling out of his mouth that he had never spoken to anyone before.

"I've never felt like this before. So low. So negative and angry and empty and broken all at the same time. I feel like I've givenup, but I don't even know _what_ the bloody heck it is that I've given up on..."

Brenda gently laid her hand on his shoulder. She thought about saying something about his sister, something like it wasn't his fault, but she thought better and decided not to bring it up.

"Newt... I've never been where you are, so I don't really know how to help. But my roommate Sonya, you know the annoying one, she wanted me to tell you something."

Newt looked up.

Brenda gave a deep sigh, looking down and hoping to remember all of it, and said, "She said it takes a long time, but it _does_ get better."

Newt didn't know what to think about that. He didn't know Sonya that well; had she gone through some sort of depression too? It had to have been different from what he was going through, because to him it felt far too late for things to be able to get better. Things had been horrible for far too long.

"I appreciate the kind words, Brenda, and I really appreciate your friendship. You, Minho, and Thomas have been such great friends to me. I'm so grateful for that."

He looked up into Brenda's dark brown eyes. He didn't know how to say the truth without being honest. He didn't want her to know it until he was gone.

"Thank you, and I'm sorry."

Brenda curled her eyebrows in confusion. Her worry for Newt had just increased a very considerable amount upon hearing those words.

"What do you mean? I don't understand, Newt..."

The young man ignored her and gave her a very sad smile. Then he abruptly stood up and said,

"I think I had too many gummy worms. I think I might get sick."

Brenda stood up too, replying in concern,

"I'll go ask Ben if he has stomach medicine-"

"No, please don't. I'll just be in the restroom and then I'll be right back." He assured her.

Brenda frowned.

"You sure?"

"Positive," he nodded. "Enjoy the party. Maybe Minho will be here soon, you should go find him. Or Tommy. I'll catch up with you after I empty my stomach."

Brenda was still frowning but she agreed to his terms. Newt nodded one last time and then disappeared into the crowd, leaving Brenda standing there in worry, confusion, and sadness.

The party continued as the night drew in and the cold weather got harsher, but inside they were nice and warm. The majority of the crowd was huddled against Ben and Fry who were playing Dance Dance Revolution on Ben's very large, very nice, flat screen TV. Frypan was winning.

Brenda moved through the crowd in search for Thomas, wondering if he was still talking with Teresa. She contemplated on texting Minho, but she felt like talking to one of them about Newt. And since Thomas was already at the party, she wanted to talk to him.

She was still searching through the crowd when somebody grabbed her arm. When she she turned around she saw Minho smiling excitedly at her.

"Hey!" He said, his dimples showing. "Wow, you look _beautiful_."

Brenda felt herself blushing. All she wore for the party was a simple, short black dress with fishnet tights and her signature black combat boots. Her dark hair fell in curls down her back. She didn't think she looked all that great, but for some reason the fact that Minho thought she was beautiful made her stomach tingle.

"Thanks..." She replied, hoping he hasn't seen her red cheeks. "Um, when did you get here?"

"Just now. I got off detention a couple of minutes ago." He was still grinning when suddenly he stopped and his expression turned serious. "Listen, Brenda, I need to tell you something."

"I do too." She said, thinking of Newt.

"Me first. Mine is really important."

"Ok then..." Brenda nodded, thinking maybe Minho needed to talk to her about Newt too.

Minho took a deep breath. He looked into her eyes and his left cheek turned up as he spoke.

"Listen, Brenda... I've been thinking about this for a while, sort of, and I decided I just need to tell you, because, well, I really wanna tell you, and I just kinda think I should tell you anyway, and it's kinda hard to say, and anyway, well, um, aw _shuck_..."

Minho scratched the back of his head and looked around, trying to get his words together. "Um..."

Brenda's eyebrow was raised, totally confused.

"Is this about Newt?" She asked.

"What? No! It's about..." Minho stared at her. "Wait, why? Is he ok?"

"I don't know... he said he was feeling sick to his stomach but he was acting really weird and I really don't know _what_ to think." Brenda told him, frowning in concern. "I'm just so worried for him."

Minho frowned, his eyebrows curled. "Where is he? Is he with Thomas?"

"He went to the bathroom but then he said he'd find Thomas and I after, so he might be with him now."

"We should go find them, make sure Newt is ok." Minho responded, wondering what Brenda meant when she said he was acting weird.

"You're right. Let's go." Brenda dove into the crowd and Minho followed her, both searching for their sick friend. Suddenly Brenda stopped walking and turned back to Minho.

"Hold on, what is it you wanted to tell me?"

Minho looked down, avoiding eye contact with her.

"Nothing," he mumbled. "Tell ya later. Let's just find Newt."

Brenda gave him a curious look and then said ok; they continued to search through the crowd for Newt and Thomas.

Minho's thoughts were worried for Newt but his mind was on Brenda. As were his eyes.

He needed to just get it over with. Just tell her and then they can find Newt and he'll be ok. Day after day spending hours in detention just thinking about the girl walking in front of him. Sure, it could ruin their friendship. Sure, it could make things awkward for the entire group. But she needed to know. She deserved to know.

He couldn't wait any longer.

Without a thought, Minho grabbed Brenda's arm and twisted her around towards him- right into him. He could barely register the shocked expression on her face before he crashed his lips on hers, shutting his eyes tightly and ever so softly cupping her beautiful face with his hands.

It felt like _magic_. Kissing Brenda. Feeling her body so close to his, her lips on his. And then when he felt her shock pass and her lips kissing his back, her arms snaking around his neck; he could swear they were falling through space or flying through heaven.

Or both. Probably both. Yup; definitely both.

Brenda pulled back to take a breath of air and she found Minho smiling at her, the biggest smile she'd ever seen on him. She felt herself smiling back.

"We should...find Newt..."

"One more." Minho whispered, before closing his eyes and kissing her again. Brenda dug her hands through his hair and allowed herself to be kissed. Allowed herself to be happy, to kiss him, and to ignore the world for just a few minutes.

Just a few more minutes.

* * *

The outside world was dark and cold. The wind made for a shivering, freezing night. But Newt didn't seem to mind.

He was standing on the balcony of the apartment's kitchen, holding onto the rail with frozen fingers. Nobody knew he was out there, and that was just fine with him. They'd find him later.

Snow covered the ground and the apartment buildings, the trees and the bushes. The roads were icy and slick, and Newt honestly couldn't think of a better night or season to reflect his emotions. He felt cold as ice. Cold and lonely and broken. He was tired of feeling these emotions. He was tired of hating himself for his poor sister's death. He was tired of living without her.

He was ready to be with her again.

No tears rolled down his eyes; he was all cried out. He hadn't written a note, or even said goodbye to Thomas or Minho. But he'd said goodbye to Brenda, so she would understand. She could tell the others for him, that for him it was too late to get better. He couldn't wait any longer. He just couldn't.

Newt carefully climbed up onto the rail. His heart was beating fast. Faster and faster until he was standing on the rail and looking down at the icy ground below. Tears finally began to escape from his eyes. He regretted not saying goodbye to his two best friends, but it was too late now. Maybe he would see them again one day. He promised to watch over them. Him and his sister both.

He shut his eyes, his heart about to burst from his chest. He could taste the salt in his tears that slipped inside his mouth.

"I'm so sorry..."

After that, he jumped.


	10. Safe

A/N: GUYS. GUYS. HOLY CRAP GUYS. This story almost has 100 reviews. I've never hit 100 reviews on a story before. THIS IS SO AWESOME, THANK YOU!

So as a very special gift to yall for being so awesome, I'm going to go ahead and spoil something: this is the END of Newt's torment! YES! He's been through so much crap and I promise this chapter will be the end of it. His depression isn't just gonna disappear, tho, so he'll still be a bit sad in future chapters- but it's not going to get any worse, it'll only get better.

NO MORE NEWT ABUSE! YAY!

ALMOST 100 REVIEWS! ALSO YAY!

YAY! HURRAY! WOOT WOOT!

This chapter is kinda sad tho. Happy, but sad. And very emotional. Many feels.

Prepare yourself.

* * *

**-everything seemed good and safe-**

**~Newt's POV~**

* * *

_...Beep...beep...beep..._

_...Beep...beep..._

_...Beep..._

_..._

"Newt? Newt!"

_...Beep...beep..._

"Is he gonna be ok?"

_...Beep...beep..._

"He has a broken leg and we're taking him into emergency surgery now."

...

"He got lucky, a jump from that height should have killed him. Your friend is going to live."

_...Beep...beep...beep..._

"You're ok, Newt. You're gonna be ok. We're here for you."

_Beep...beep..._

"We're here, Newt. We're here."

_...Beep..._

...

...

..

"Newt?"

That voice... I hadn't heard that voice in such a long time. I never thought I would hear that voice ever again.

"Newt, it's me. Open your eyes, Newt. Just open your eyes."

...Could it be?

"Open your eyes, brother. I'm right here."

My eyes fluttered open. Everything was violently bright at first, but after blinking a couple of times my eyes adjusted. Everything around me was white and hazy, and in the midst of it was the one person I thought I'd never see again.

My little sister.

"N-noelle?"

She smiled at me- her blue eyes twinkling with happiness. She was really there- right there in front of me, so close that if I reached my hand out I could have touched her. She was wearing a long white dress, and the space around her blonde hair was shining like a halo. She looked like an angel.

"Noelle? Am I... am I dead?" I asked, stuttering on my words. I couldn't believe it, yet it felt so real. Is this what Heaven was like?

Noelle, however, shook her head.

"No, Newt, you're still alive. You're just unconscious at the moment."

"Then where am I? How are you here? I don't understand..."

"I'm visiting you in your head while you're unconscious, kind of like visiting you in a dream."

"I still don't understand. You're _dead_. Are you... are you an angel?"

Noelle ignored my question and just smiled at me instead. As soon as her smile came, though, it vanished and was replaced by an extremely sad frown.

"Newt, you've been so sad for such a long time. Why did you jump? Why would you even want to?"

The sadness that formed in her eyes made me want to cry. It reminded me of days when we were little kids; when she would get hurt or get picked on by kids at school. Nothing would make me more angry or heartbroken then when my little sister was troubled.

My lips started to tremble. I felt tears starting to form in my eyes. How could I be crying if this was a dream?

"Noelle... I... I jumped because of you. I did all of this for you. That day when you were seven and we were playing in the street, I should have been looking after you but I wasn't. It was _my_ fault you got hit by that car. I've had to live with that grief all my life, but if I was dead I wouldn't have to. If I was dead we could be together again. If I was dead..." I couldn't see her anymore, my eyes were so overwhelmed with tears that it was blurring out my vision. "...I could tell you that I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Noelle. I'm sorry."

Suddenly I felt a warm presence around me. I wiped my tears away and saw that Noelle was hugging me, and I hugged her back as hard as I could. Maybe if I hugged hard enough and didn't let go I could keep her. Take her back with me. Maybe God would let her live once more.

"Oh Newt... It's not your fault. I don't blame you one bit for what happened to me. It is _not_ your fault. What happened to me happened because it was my time to go. You can't control it, and you absolutely cannot take the blame for it."

I didn't know what to say. I just hugged her tightly and cried. A settling feeling in my stomach told me that maybe she was right.

"But I can't move on... I can't live without you, Noelle. I feel so terrible..." I cried, wondering if any of this was actually happening or if it was all in my head.

My sister looked up at me with a firm look on her face, the face that she always gets when I've given up but she knows I can do better.

"Newt, you can do this. You're the strongest brother there ever was. You are brave and smart and kind and caring and you are a wonderful person. I know you'll be able to get through this. And you never have to feel alone. You have amazing best friends that are always willing to be there for you; and you have me. I can't be there physically, but I will _always_ be there for you in spirit. Always."

I smiled at her, tears still spilling down my cheeks. I wished so much for her to come back with me, but I knew she was right. I _am_ strong, and I _can_ get through this. She believes in me so much, and I think it's finally time for me to start believing in myself.

I noticed the halo-ish glimmer around her head starting to vanish. Then I realized her feet were vanishing too, along with the rest of her. She was starting to disappear.

"Wait! Noelle!" I yelled, trying to grab her hand, but there was nothing there to grab.

"I love you, bro. I'll always be with you."

"Please don't go! Not yet."

"I have to, and so do you. Promise me one thing?"

"Anything."

"Never try to kill yourself again. Come to me when your ready. Only one person knows when you're ready, and that's _not_ you."

"I promise, Noelle. I promise."

I caught a glimpse of her angelic smile one last time before she disappeared, and I fainted into a vision of darkness.

* * *

**~Newt's POV~**

The first thing I heard was a slow beeping noise in my left ear. I opened my eyes to see I was in a hospital room. I was laying in a bed with an IV in my arm and something else attached to my finger. A glance to the left revealed the heart monitor making the beeping noise and the bag of IV fluids.

"Newton?"

I looked up at the sound of my mother's voice. Both my parents were standing there, staring at me in worry.

"You ok there, son?" My father asked, sitting down on the couch next to my bed and placing a hand on my arm.

"Yeah, dad. I'm... I'm ok now." I croaked. That's when I noticed my right leg was wrapped in a white cast and elevated on a pillow.

"What happened to my leg?" I asked, not remembering much. All I remembered was jumping, a painful impact and something burning in my leg, and then I was talking to my sister. How did I end up here in the hospital? How are my parents even here?

Did I _really_ see my sister? Or was it just a dream? It felt so real, especially when she hugged me. I refused to believe it was fake; a figment of my imagination. I don't know how, but I really did see her. I _know_ I did.

"You broke your leg, sweetheart," my mother told me, her eyes red and puffy. "They told us it was the ice. When you jumped, you landed on your leg right on a patch of ice and you slid."

I couldn't believe it. My life was saved by _ice_?

But why am I still alive? Is this my second chance at life? A do-over, to live my life the right way? Is that why Noelle visited me and forgave me? Now that I know she doesn't blame me, I don't need to go on living in regret. Maybe I can be happy. Maybe that's why I'm still alive.

"Mom, dad... I'm sorry." I mumbled, taking a deep breath and staring back and forth between the two of them.

"Oh dear, you don't need to apologize." My mum whispered, moving closer to my bed on my other side and holding my hand. "_I'm_ sorry that this is happening to you, that you wanted to jump. I'm so, so sorry my love." She squeezed my hand as tears started streaming down her cheeks.

"Listen, Newt..." I turned to my right to see my father looking down, struggling for something to say. He was never good with words. "Your sister, Noelle... she was a great girl. We all loved her. But, uh... It's alright that she's gone now. I mean it's not alright, but what I'm trying to say is that she wouldn't want you to do this. To live like this. I know you think she blames you for her death, but I hope you know none of us- your mother and I- don't blame you one bit. And I bet neither does she."

I nodded my head at him, letting him know it was ok. He patted my arm and gave me a small smile, nodding back.

"I know, dad... I know she doesn't blame me, and neither do you or mum. I'm not going to be jumping again anytime soon. I promise."

My mother smiled through her tears and gave me a gentle hug (carefully avoiding the wires I was connected to). My father sat there with his hand on my arm, holding onto me tightly. Even though the situation we were in was terrible- I was in the hospital with a broken leg for trying to kill myself- I somehow felt at peace. I was with my parents, who I loved very dearly. They didn't blame me for Noelle's death- and neither did she.

There was a calming feeling about the room, and I had a thought that maybe, just maybe, she was here with us. In spirit.

The thought made me smile.

"Alright, well, the doctor performed surgery on your leg and fixed it up as best she could." My father said suddenly, standing up and grabbing his fedora that was next to him on the couch. "She told us the recovery would be 6-8 weeks, in which you will be in crutches."

I suppressed a sigh. That was a long time to be in crutches. No doubt I'll have a horrible limp after I'm recovered.

"Yes, and she also said she wants you to stay in the hospital overnight just so she can keep an eye on you in case there's any after affects from the surgery." My mother said, standing up also but still holding my hand. "Would you like is to stay with you tonight?"

"Mum, I'm 19 years old. I'll be fine by myself."

"Oh alright, just making sure." She kissed my forehead and tucked my sheets in. "Is there anything else you need before we go?"

"No, I'll be alright."

"You sure?"

"Yes, mum, I'm sure."

"Ok, alright. Call us if you need anything. I'll call tomorrow to check on you."

"Ok mum."

After that they departed and I was alone. I wasn't alone for very long, though.

"Knock knock? May we come in?" I heard a voice at the door say. I barely had a chance to open my mouth and reply when a whole bunch of people came shuffling in, holding many presents and "get well soon" balloons.

I couldn't help but smile. Thomas, Minho, Brenda and Teresa- still in their party clothes from Ben's party. Which made me think they must have been waiting here at the hospital this entire time- and it must be super late at night, or super early in the morning.

"We got you some things while you were in surgery..." Brenda spoke, glancing at all of the gift bags they were carrying (except for Minho, who was holding a rather large stuffed animal bear that had a heart attached to it that said "I love you" on it). "How are you feeling?"

"Alright, I guess." I replied, shrugging. I didn't quite know what to say or how to feel.

"That's good." Brenda said, nodding her head. It was quiet after that. I suppose none of them knew what to say, like me. They looked very sad and uncomfortable. I guess that's a bit how I felt at the moment.

"I'm sorry, Newt," Minho said after a minute, looking up at me with grieving eyes. "This is my fault."

All of us stared at him in confusion.

"At the party, Brenda told me you were acting strange. She was worried about you and she wanted to go find you, but I got in the way. If it hadn't been for me, we could have gotten to you before... before you jumped."

"Minho-" Brenda cried, but he cut her off.

"Don't try to defend me, Brenda. You know it's true." He gave her a look, and she stared at the ground.

"Minho, you are such a shank." I said, shaking my head.

He raised his eyebrows.

"It's not your bloody fault so stop acting like a drama queen, ok?"

"Newt-"

"No no _no_, don't you '_Newt_' me. The only one who could have stopped me from jumping off that rail is me. What's done is done. I'm still alive, so good that."

Minho's face twisted up in anger and confusion. Brenda looked like she was deep in thought, and Thomas and Teresa remained quietly in the background, not saying a word.

Suddenly a giant vision of fluff hit me in the head.

"Hey! What was that for?!" I growled, realizing Minho had just thrown the stuffed animal bear at me.

"I don't get it! You jumped off a shucking balcony because you wanted to _kill_ yourself- and you're acting like everything's okay!" Minho yelled, his hands in the air.

"Minho, calm down!" Thomas said, grabbing his arm.

"I don't understand why you're so angry, Minho... did you _want_ me to die?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.

His eye twitched.

"NO! Of _course_ not! You shucking idiot! You're my best friend!"

I was starting to understand his temper.

"Minho-"

"_Shut up_!" He yelled, grabbing onto the rail at the end of my hospital bed and holding onto it tightly. "Newt, you're our best friend. You're like our brother. We've been trying so hard lately to make you feel better because of how you've been feeling, and we hate seeing you like that. _I_ hate seeing you like that. I know you're depressed because you think you killed your sister but honestly you can't _do_ this! You can't just go and jump off a shucking balcony! We're your _brothers_\- we care about you, and we can't just let you go like that. I know I suck at trying to make people feel better but can't you at least give me the chance? Don't- don't kill yourself! Just give us the chance to help you, and you can get through this. _Help_ us to help you. Please. Just don't- don't- don't shucking kill yourself. Gosh, Newt. Please don't ever do that again. Just don't."

Minho bent forward so I couldn't see his face, but I could still hear the sound of his sobs. Brenda walked over to him and placed her hands in a protective manner around his shoulders. Thomas and Teresa were staring at the ground.

I tried to fight the tears but it was useless. They shot down my cheeks like a freight train. I can't believe I didn't even think about my friends. My best friends. I was so ignorant, the entire time and all they were doing was trying to help me. And all I was doing was trying to block them out.

"Guys..." Thomas finally spoke, looking up from the floor. "I have something to say."

"Spit it out, shuckface." Minho muttered, his head still down.

Thomas took a deep breath and then looked at me.

"Minho is right about a couple of things. Newt, you're our brother and we would do anything to help you not be in pain anymore. But you can't blame yourself for what you've been feeling. Depression is such a serious thing; when people go through it it isn't something that can be fixed very easily. It's not your fault that your sister passed away, and it's also not your fault that you have negative, bad feelings about that." Thomas came closer towards the couch that was on the right side of my bed and sat down.

"I'm really sorry that all of this is happening to you. I hope you already know that you are so special to all of us and we'll always be there when you need us. Even if we do kinda suck at trying to make you feel better."

I smiled at that last comment. And now I _really_ didn't know what to say. They were all staring at me, agreeing with Thomas. Minho sat down next to him on the couch and nodded at me, half-smiling. He patted my leg very, very softly.

"Well... this has all been very lovey-dovey and feely and emotional," I said, hugging the stuffed animal bear. "I think I'm going to go ahead and say thank you... you guys are pretty great friends... and in all honesty, I don't think I'm going to try and kill myself anytime soon. Or ever again."

Everyone smiled even wider, and before I could tell them to stop they all gave me a giant hug at the same time. I secretly liked it though, and I closed my eyes and hugged them back.

"So how long do you have to stay in the hospital?" Teresa asked.

"Just for the night." I replied. "Thanks for coming by the way. You really didn't have to- none of you did."

"Oh, pish posh!" Brenda said loudly, hands on her hips. "Of course we came, Newt. Who else was gonna buy you all these awesome gifts and balloons?"

"Speaking of which, do I get to open them?" I asked hopefully.

"Heck ya!"

They laid the presents on the bed (carefully avoiding my leg) and I opened them one by one.

"You'll like mine the best." Minho told me, wiggling his eyebrows.

From Thomas, a snow globe with TGA inside of it. From Brenda, a pair of colorful oven mitts. From Teresa, a bag of candy. And from Minho, the giant stuffed animal bear that he had thrown at my face. But apparently he had another gift for me, which was wrapped in a very small rectangular box.

I opened it to find a marker.

"Gee, Minho... a bloody marker? Seriously?"

"Not just ANY bloody marker, it's a special marker designed for writing on casts- AND its glow in the dark." He said proudly, smirking.

"Oh nice!" I said, actually excited. Maybe writing all over my cast would make it seem less of a pain? "Someone turn off the lights!"

Thomas turned the lights off and, sure enough when I used the marker on the cast, it started to glow.

We each took turns writing random stuff on my leg cast, such as "Rat Man eats klunk" "Minho x hair gel 4eva" and "Newtie Bootie pwns Patootie." I'm not sure who wrote the last one.

After that it was time for them to leave (waaaay past time, as in visiting hours ended like five hours ago). Minho and Thomas decided to stay the night with me, even though they didn't have their toothbrushes or anything and I didn't think the hospital would allow them to do that since they weren't related to me in any way. BUT they stayed with me nonetheless.

While Minho was out in the hall saying goodbye to Brenda, Thomas was getting comfy on the couch (Minho was going to sleep on the other hospital bed that was in here). It was quiet for a few minutes while I was deciding whether or not to tell Tommy about seeing my sister. I hadn't even told my own parents.

"Tommy?" I called softly from my bed, holding close to the bear whom I had named Minho Jr.

"Yeah Newt?" He replied from the couch. The light in the room was off so we couldn't see each other very well. Which was ok with me.

"...I saw my sister."

He paused. "What?"

"I saw my sister, while I was unconscious during surgery. I think she came to me as an angel... or something. I'm still unclear on how it happened."

"...What's her name?"

"Noelle."

"Wow, that's a pretty name. What did she say to you?"

"She told me she doesn't blame me for her death. And she made me promise never to try and hurt myself again."

Thomas was quiet after that.

"So... What did you tell her? What are you gonna do?" He asked, his voice very gentle.

"I promised her that I wouldn't. As for what I'm gonna do? I'm not really sure..." I shrugged, even tho he couldn't see me. "I guess I'll just go back to school and try to get back to normal."

I sighed, feeling my tiredness pulling me in. My eyelids were drooping slowly, and I could really start to feel the weight of today's affairs hit me like a ton of bricks.

"I'm never gonna do anything stupid like that again..." I whispered, wondering if Tommy could even hear me. "I promise, Tommy. I promise."

* * *

"Brenda, I'm sorry... I feel like an idiot."

Brenda shook her head, staring up at him with a concerned frown.

"Minho, Newt doesn't blame you and neither do I. It's not your fault, so you have no reason to feel bad." She took his hand in hers but he instantly pulled back, causing her to raise her eyebrow.

"Thomas was right... we need to help Newt, first and foremost. And I can't... I mean I don't want anything to get in the way of that." Minho said regrettably, trying to avoid her gaze.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I can't let this happen again. My... the way I feel about you can't get in the way of me helping Newt. It can't happen again. I'm sorry."

Minho started walking away but Brenda grabbed his arm and pulled him back to her, their faces inches apart. He stared at her in shock but she just shook her head and said,

"You think you can get away from me that easily? Minho, you are such a shank. Nothing is gonna happen to Newt because we'll both be there for him, and so will Thomas. And our feelings for each other aren't going to get in the way."

"But-"

She interrupted him by pushing his head towards hers, closing the distance between their lips. Minho didn't put up much of a fight before closing his eyes and embracing her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her back.

After a very long, drawn out, lingering kiss, they pulled apart to refill their lungs with air. Minho stared down at her with twinkling brown eyes; Brenda stared up at him and smiled. A couple of nurses passing by did double takes, wondering why two college kids were making out in a hospital hallway at two in the morning.

"So..." Brenda said quietly, raising her eyebrow. "Do you trust me when I say our relationship won't get in the way of helping Newt?"

Minho licked his lips, thinking on the subject. "Hmm, I don't know... I might need another kiss to convince me completely."

Brenda rolled her eyes and laughed. "You are such a shank, you shank."

"Yes, I trust you Brenda... but I still would like another kiss."

"And why is that?"

"Because I'm kinda in love with you."

Brenda grinned, holding him tighter. Minho rested his forehead against hers, letting himself be at peace for the moment. Newt was alive. He was safe. Brenda was in his arms.

For now, everything was okay.

He kissed her passionately; holding her as close as possible to make sure she couldn't slip away. And she didn't; she was happy to be with him, and he was happy to be with her. At that moment, everything was good. They were happy, and they weren't going to let anything bad happen to Newt anytime soon.

* * *

A/N: Sooo I FINALLY watched A Very Potter Musical and holy crap it's hilarious. I can't believe I never watched it earlier!

Anyway, I hope yall liked this chapter. Please comment and tell me what ya think! And yes, Brenda and Minho are definitely going to be making out some more in the future. *wink wink*

*jumps on a Firebolt and flies away*


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